


Venom

by FayTheGay



Series: What Runs Through Them [3]
Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Bit of a cheesy concept, Bloodthirsty Vampire, Child vampire, Children of The Moon, Collin's an idiot, Emmett lives!, F/F, F/M, Family, First of the species, Friendship, Gen, Imprinting, M/M, Manipulation, Maybe - Freeform, Maybe I lied, Never a good ending, Old Souls, Other, Secrets, Supernatural Elements, Unhappy Ending, Visions of the dead, could be happy ending, immortal children, killing for fun, no happy ending, probably, probably not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-06-07 10:13:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 90,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6799651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayTheGay/pseuds/FayTheGay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Bella's death her son lashes out, she's dead and it's all Mary's fault. He just wants to be human again. When Mary won't give him what he wants he runs. A temper tantrum from a child vampire is the least of their worries, though. Something else is brewing and it could mean something terrible for vampires and shapeshifters alike. Especially when Mary learns the truth. Sequel!</p><p>Sequel to Blood and Essense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Collin Lee Lahote was the younger brother of Daula Marin Lahote and son of Bella Marie Lahote. He was overly aware that their lives weren't conventional. He had lived through his family's life. Or the dead ones.

Maybe he should explain.

He was born a quarter vampire. He was also born with a gift. He had a dark gift. A painful gift. He relived the lives of the dead. It was complicated. It hurt. It made him overly aware that life was short and could be terrible.

He was nearing twenty years of life. Twenty years with this terrible gift. Of course he physically didn't come close to matching his real age. His best friend had made him a vampire around the time he'd turned ten. Mary claimed she had done it to help him suppress his ability.

That was what she told his family. Collin was well aware of the lie. Mary had done it because she wanted a friend. Someone who she didn't have to look up at. Someone she could be close to for eternity. She told his mother it was for the best. In a way it was. He was aware he was staring down eternity as a ten year old. He had been cursed by his best friend to suffer the same thing she had for millions of years.

He knew Mary was capable of making him a human again at any time. He didn't think she would.

Sure she loved his cousin. It was clear she would happily lay her life down for him. Presuming she was able to die.

The family had grown apart or died over the years. Brady lived in California, Rosalie had died in a car wreck.

His mom wasn't looking good either. She was far enough into her death bed that if Collin tried he could glimpse into his mother's past. If Mary hadn't turned her back into a human from a Half Breed this wouldn't be happening. His mother wouldn't be dying. The worse part was she didn't want to be saved. Mary had offered to turn her into a vampire. If she did it would have allowed her to heal. Then she could've been changed back. She didn't want to be saved though. She was going to die. She was okay with this.

He wasn't.

That's where this begins.

Collin looked at the machines connected to his mother with tears in his eyes.

"Mary, there has to be something." He barely whispered it, scared to wake his mother.

"Your sister will be here in the morning." If it hurt Mary that her sister was dying she didn't act like it. She was sitting on the foot of the hospital bed. She was watching the heart rate monitor.

"She's your _sister_. You can't let her die. _Mary_."

The girl jerked her head up and bared her teeth at the other boy. "I killed my sister. Twice. I am completely capable of letting her die. I'm sorry, Collin. I would never keep her alive against her will. You _know_ that. Do _not_ put some stupid guilt trip crap on me. I'm _sorry_ that she-"

"Collin."

The two kids moved their focus to his mother. Guilt filled him. He hadn't meant to wake her up. "Yes, momma?"

"We've talked about this." His mother gave him a hard look though she barely managed it.

"I know. It's still stupid. You went through Hell and back and you're gonna die of lung cancer. You don't even smoke!"

"I know." She laughed weakly and shook her head. "Go figure." She shut her eyes.

"Momma, please."

"Baby boy, Hell and back is exactly why I need to move on. I love you and your sister. I love you both to death." she broke off in a fit of coughing. Collin got out of his seat and joined his mother's side, taking her hand and closing his eyes.

_We stopped in front of a door, Edward took my arm again and pushed open the door, my heart sank at what was on the other side. This was not promising. We were in a large cavern which was lit by torches, it reminded me of Volterra, and it wasn't overly extravagant like the Amoz. It was basic. Somehow that made it worse. At the back of the room were two thrones, each one housing a short, small male. One had darker hair than the other but in the torchlight it wasn't exactly easy to see their features._

_On his knees in front of them was Emmett, Alice was on the right side of the thrones a little behind Emmett, Laurent was behind her with as sobbing Rosalie restrained. Dol was on the left side of the thrones, between the two, watching the exchange. The look on her face said it all, things were not going well._

" _About time you arrived, Edward. I was getting awfully bored interrogating him without our witnesses. Though it appears we are one witness short. Care to explain?" The lighter haired one spoke, he had a thick accent and spoke with little interest._

" _She is a spectral shapeshifter. There isn't a way to keep her confined."_

" _If you idiots had given her the SH like you were supposed to this wouldn't be an issue." The other one sounded even less interested in the current situation._

" _We all know this falls back on the accused. Harboring a shifter. Tsk, tsk. Emmett, I would have thought you'd learned your lesson." The light haired one leaned forward and rested his head on his hand, looking at Emmett._

" _He didn't do anything!"_

" _If you don't shut your mouth, Rosalie, I will shut it for you. You are only here because you are his mate."_

Collin jerked out of his mother's memory and dropped to his knees. No. She wasn't dying. He wouldn't lose her. "Collin." He ignored Mary.

No.

She wouldn't die.

She couldn't.

He rose to his feet and took his mother's hand again.

"Collin, don't!" Mary was fast. She had always been faster than any other vampire. Collin was her direct creation. He was fast too. He wasn't fast enough. Mary grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. He barely managed to knock him away from biting his mother. She used her forearm to pin him to the ground by his throat.

"Mary, let me go." He fought against his friend. His creator. No. His mother couldn't die. No.

"Stop being a brat, Collin." She bared her teeth at him. "You aren't the only one losing someone you love!" He stopped struggling and began to shake beneath his friend.

"Collin." He struggled against Mary when his mother's voice filled his ears.

"I'll behave. Let me go." Collin wasn't sure if he was lying. Mary was weary before finally releasing the small boy. He got up and joined his mother's side, trying to not to think of his friend standing directly next to him.

Bella gave her son a weak smile. "Go home. You've been here for two days. Aunt Rose is in the hall."

Now Collin was worried. Extremely worried. "Mom...Aunt Rose is dead...she died a few years ago..."

His mother looked at him as if he was insane. "Aunt Rose is fine. She came in while you two were on the floor."

"Bella." She moved her focus to the other girl. Her sister. "Your mind. Remember? Fantasy and reality. I'm sorry."

The old woman shut her eyes and made a pained noise. "No. Rose isn't dead. She didn't die. She went through too much. She can't be dead."

"You were at her funeral, mom. She died. She got hit by a car."

Bella stared at the ceiling for a moment before letting out a choked laugh. She shook her head and a massive grin covered her face. "Hit by a car. Definitely not a blaze of glory but...I think she'd be happy."

Collin stared at his mom before speaking up.

"She was happy. I...I lived her death. She was happy. Said cars always were her kryptonite."

"Always those comic book references." His mother hummed softly before shutting her eyes. "Brady isn't here. He should be. Aunt Dol wants to see him."

"Bella, I'm gonna take Collin to hunt. We'll be back." Mary didn't let Collin comment on what she'd said before pulling him out of the room and down the hall.

"I don't get it. Mary. Mary, please. Talk to me." She didn't respond to him, instead she drug him out of the hospital and the second they were in the dark she let him go. She growled lowly and punched the nearest wall, ignoring the way the brick crumbled beneath and around her first. " _Mary_."

" _What_ , Collin?" She bares her teeth at him. " _What_ do you want? The answers? The meaning to life? Damnit, Collin. My _sister_. I'm _sorry_ okay. Your mother is dying. She is clinically insane. I'm sorry. I really am. She is going to die. And...Fuck." The girl dropped to her knees, putting her face in her hands. "I'm watching my sister die. I'm about to lose one of the few people in existence I love. I'm sorry you don't like it. I'm sorry it breaks your heart. I'm having to watch her die too. I have fifty different ways I could save her but she won't let me do it. So what we are going to do is let her believe her hallucinations are real because she will be happier that way."

Collin stared at the girl in front of him before speaking, "make me human." He couldn't do this. He couldn't.

"No." She looked at him, rising to her feet.

He growled at the girl in front of him. "Make me human, Mary."

She shook her head once. "You're staying a vampire. End of discussion." She met his chocolate brown eyes with her own. "No one can kill you. Remember that, Collin. You're mine. You will never die." She bared her teeth at him. "I'm going to join your mother's side."

Then Mary was gone and Collin was alone. Alone. He was alone. He looked at the hospital, stared at it. No. He couldn't do this. He couldn't watch his mother die. He couldn't.

He turned and ran. He ran away from the hospital. Away from the town. Away from his life. He ran and he didn't look back. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He couldn't watch her die. He'd lost too many members of his family.

.-~**~-.

A child.

That's what Collin was.

Mary should have never changed him.

Even if they were the same age physically. She'd had a very long time to mature. He was still a child.

She did it though. Then she watched him lash out. Watched as he killed thousands of people in blind rage. One thing in all of his victims was common.

The humans called it hate crimes. Hate crimes on minors. Mary scoffed when she heard this. He was proving a point. Killing off young girls with dark skin and black hair. It was a message to her. He was telling her he would kill her.

Call her screwed in the head but Mary enjoyed it. She hadn't had a direct creation in millions of years. It was a slight thrill. He was as almost as fast as her. Almost as strong as her. He was also bloodthirsty. He was angry with the girl who had let his mother die.

As time passed. Mary watched most of the family she'd tied herself to age and die. Almost all of them. Except Brady and Lila. They spent half their time human and the other half animals. Mary watched the boy she loved become the man she loved. He was her brother. He would always be her brother. He was one of the only creatures on the planet she cared about.

She watched them have their own kids. Even when he was the oldest of the kids both him and his mate never looked their age. They watched Daula grow up. Watched her marry Andy. Mary stuck by them through it all. They would ask Mary what Collin was doing.

She would tell them lies.

It was easier.

_Collin is fine._

_Collin is working with Garrett._

_Collin is in England._

_Collin is enforcing laws._

_Collin is okay._

_Collin might be in love._

_Collin said he'll bring her home._

_Collin killed her._

Brady wasn't stupid. Neither was Lila.

They heard about the bodies. They didn't ever confront her. Not originally. They let it happen for several years.

"Mary." She lifted her head from the floor as Brady stepped into the room followed closely by Lila.

"Are you finally calling me out on my crap?" Mary stretched herself out on the couch, watching the two with annoyance.

"It is him then." Brady shook his head in disappointment.

"Of course it is." Mary rolled her eyes. "Do you really think the deaths are a coincidence? My god, Bur. I may have a lot of enemies but Collin is the only other vampire in existence that no one would be stupid enough to confront."

"So are you going to do anything about it?" Lila narrowed her eyes at the young girl.

Mary shrugged. "'fraid I can't. Collin is my direct creation. He's one of two people in existence that can kill me. I value my life, Lil."

"Mer." She froze up for a split second at the name. It was rare he used the name.

She lifted her gaze to her brother. "Brady. Or are you Bur right now? Sometimes I can't tell." She tried to keep her voice uncaring but there was a slight crack in it.

"You're going to let him kill humans recklessly?"

She tried not to grin, excitement rolling through her. This was Bur. It was clearly Bur slipping through the cracks. "Recklessly, Bur? This isn't reckless. He may be blind with rage but the message is clear. He's doing it because I let Bella die and refuse to make him human again." Mary sat up, stretching unnecessarily. "Always siding with humanity, Bur. You really were a disappointment to your mother." She couldn't help but push the buttons of her brother.

Brady narrowed his eyes at Mary earning a completely innocent look from her. "I'm not Bur, Mary. We've talked about this. My mother would have been proud of me."

She rose to her feet with little effort, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh but you are Bur. Once upon a time lived a girl who went by Ak. She had a bit of a God complex. Believed she knew best. In a time with few humans she chose to kill them because she believed they needed to die. Then she had a son. A boy she called Bur. Ak's sister loved this boy more than she loved her and the boy hated his mother because she killed so many. Ak became angry and eventually she killed her son." Mary chose to tell the story like she was speaking to a small child, a bit ironically.

"Ak killed the boy in front of her sister. For millions of years the sister sat and mourned the death of her brother, her nephew. Then she woke. She woke up. She had to clean up the world. It was her job. Then she saw the boy. The boy with the eternal eyes. The son of her sister. Reborn after millions of years of being dead. She saw the same boy she had loved all those years ago. She always would love him."

A dreadful feeling overtook her and she couldn't help but look away from him. "One day you will die, Bur. It breaks my heart to know that after millions of years the last of my family will die."

She heard the slight sound of the air around his head move as he shook her head. "Mary, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm not that boy."

She returned her gaze to the boy. "Your mother wasn't Ak." Mary laughed weakly. "Not directly. But that little nagging voice at the back of your head. The one that told you to trust me. The one that still tells you I'm doing the right thing. That is Bur. My baby brother. My nephew. He's an amazing boy. Just like you are."

He didn't waste any time in responding. "When you look at me. Who do you see?"

Mary blinked before she moved her gaze across the man before resting them on his eyes. Who did she see? Sometimes she saw the deep brown eyes of Bur bleeding through the changing colors of Brady's. Sometimes she could almost see the three year old boy he had been when she knew him all those years ago rather than the man he was now. Today. Today she saw those eyes. The deep brown eyes. They eyes that belonged to Bur. It was him. It was always him. Always her brother.

She swallowed unnecessarily. "I see my brother. I always see my brother. Even when I see Bur in you I see my brother."

"If you are my sister. Tell me this truth. Why won't you make him human?"

She tilted her head slightly before looking down at the ground. "I need him. Someone my age to ride out eternity with. Why do you think I turned him when he was so little?" She shook her head. "I was cursed to eternity walking the earth while my sister was cursed to never truly die. Now I'm staring down eternity alone. Or I was. Until I realized I could make my own companion. Eternity with Collin. He will mature. It may take a few thousand years but he will mature."

"He's killing people. A lot of people. Kids-"

Mary rose to her feet and have Brady a hard look. The words that came were hard to say but it was something she'd coached herself into believing. "You're my brother. I've always loved you. Always have. Always will. You forget though. I'm neutral. As long as humanity remains balanced I am neutral. I love you, Brady Boy. Lord knows why but I have grown to love most of your family. When you and your mate grow old. When you die. I'll protect your kids. I'll protect your kid's kids. They'll be my nephews and nieces. It will never change. I won't take sides though. I can't. Someone like me can't afford that. Even if Collin kills a thousand more girls I can't. The hard truth is someone as old as me must remain neutral when involved with people. It's why even when I'll throw my life down to protect you I would never have left humanity's population as high as it was no matter how much you asked. Though I love you to my own demise I cannot get involved in this."

Lila stared at the young girl for a moment. "You're a coward, Mary. A selfish child. I never knew your sister but I knew Bella. I heard the stories. It makes perfect sense. The three of you. You're all alike. You're all selfish. Only doing what benefits you."

" _Now_ you're getting it." Mary rolled her shoulders and grinned. "If I wasn't around right now you and your kind would be nothing. Once Ak killed off humanity she would've called every single one of you to her. She would've sucked the animal souls from you and ripped the remaining bodies to shreds before killing herself. She would've wiped out humanity in every way possible."

"You're wrong." Mary focused on Brady as he spoke. "My aunt and mother. They're why you won. You just dealt the final blow. Dol gave up her freedom to Bell." He glanced over at Lila as she stared down at the two bracelets on her wrist that had once been Bella and Dol's necklaces. "She gave up her life so humanity could survive. Aunt Bell made her give up her power. Her ability to defend herself. You might think it was you but the truth us you couldn't have done it on your own."

Mary stared at her brother for a long moment before speaking. "Goodbye, Bur. I love you." Then she left. She left because she couldn't admit the truth. She couldn't admit to him that he was right. That the two shapeshifters in front of her had been right.

Mary had a difficult choice. She either would be forced to make Collin human or she would have to make him listen to her.

.-~**~-.

Collin was intrigued. In the blink of an eye he'd gone from miserable and angry to curious. He'd taken a break. He had considered each dead person he knew. Then he'd dived into their memories.

This time was different though. Instead of seeing the memories from the perspective of the dead person Collin was watching over the scene. He'd never experienced a memory like this.

He was in the corner of a large room. A room he vaguely recognized from his mother and aunt's memories. The throne room. Volterra.

He watched with interest as a group of people piled into the room, people of all ages. Men, women, and children. Among them all Collin immediately recognized a young girl. He knew who she was. He recognized his mother. Only ten years old. Too young. He didn't need to guess what this was. He'd never seen this but he didn't need to guess.

The day his grandparents died. The day his mother was taken.

He looked at the thrones where three different men sat. He had seen the Volturi once. In one of his aunt's memories. He'd seen the three men in the thrones die. Now he was seeing where it all began. He remembered the story.

Aro saw her.

Aro took her.

Aro saved her.

Except Aro wasn't paying attention to her.

Collin began to worry. He moved across the room so he was standing in front of Aro's throne then turned to face him. Aro was staring at the ceiling. He wasn't acknowledging the presence of the humans.

"What are you doing?" This was a memory. It was pointless to talk to him. It didn't stop him though. "Save the girl! Save my mother!"

Aro blinked. Almost as though he'd heard Collin. That wasn't possible. It was only a memory. It was just a coincidence. Aro looked through him, tilting his head slightly. He rose to his feet and stepped through Collin. He turned around and watched as Aro darted to Bella, lifting her up into his arms and pulling her out of the room. He couldn't help but follow her.

He watched his mother fight and struggle against Aro and couldn't help but turn his head to watch

He couldn't turn his head away as the torches in the large room went out. He heard the screams from the confused humans and he saw as every vampire in the room went from standing around to diving into the group of humans. He tried to stay with them, he wanted to stay with the group. He couldn't though.

He was pulled along by an invisible wall. He was bound to his mother's mind. Her memories. The sounds of the screaming slowly faded as he was pulled around a corner.

He'd seen memories here before.

Each corridor in the lower half of the city ingrained into him. Every memory of his mother's life here etched into him. It was all he had left. Suffering through years of his mother's childhood. Up until that disturbing kiss.

Collin couldn't help but enjoy the memory of Aro's death. It was satisfying. After years of manipulation and emotional torture the death of the man that caused it was satisfying.

Except.

His mind wandered back to his actions from before.

What had happened? He'd seen that happen before. Always from his mother's perspective. He had just impacted the event as a third party.

Why did this bother him?

What was different? Never once before had he been a third party.

He'd impacted the events. Or at least that was what it had appeared to be.

He turned around as the wall stopped pulling him. His mother wasn't struggling. She wasn't fighting. Aro had set her down in the middle of a corridor and she was staring up at him with big brown eyes.

"It's alright, Isabella." He knelt in front of the girl.

"Where are my parents!" She yelled at him, her voice said all he needed to know. She was scared. Scared of the strange man. Scared of the things that we're happening. Scared of the screaming she'd heard.

"They're leaving you here for a bit. They'll come back for you soon."

Collin knew that was a lie.

They'd never come back.

They were dead.

Just like she was dead.

He wanted her to know. He needed her to know. The truth. It was painful. But it had to be there. If he really could impact the memories. She needed to know.

He walked across the ground and spoke into her ear. "They aren't coming back. They won't come back. They're dead." She didn't react to his words. It didn't stop him. "Dol. Daula Marin Uley. _Wake up._ Bella needs you. She will need you." The words came effortlessly. He wasn't sure where they came from but he _had_ to say them.

His mother nodded to the vampire, whispering softly, "okay."

The world around him sank away as _something_ in the outside world touched his arm.


	2. Chapter 2

Collin jerked to his feet, blinking once to focus on his surroundings. When he'd sunk into his memories he'd been in a small rock formation in the Rockies. He was still there.

The one that had touched him, it was a young girl. A completely naked girl. There wasn't any way she was older than ten. She had golden hair that ran down to her hips ad was covered in scars that looked like animal bites and claws.

The girl backed away from Collin who had crouched defensively with his teeth exposed out of instinct. He looked the girl over and instantly knew what she was. A human.

What he wanted to do was snap her neck. He should've done it. But he was interested. What was a girl her age doing out here?

Why was she naked?

More importantly.

Why was she growling at him?

It took a second for it to click with him. The girl was staring at him. Those eyes. The eternal eyes. The ever changing eyes. The eyes that belonged to his cousin, his aunt. The eyes that haunted his mother's memories.

She was an old soul.

There were only two old souls in existence. One was dead. The other was in California.

Why was he staring at those eyes then?

Why did this girl have eternal eyes?

He blinked and jumped back as the girl all but flung herself at him making an animalistic sound. She grabbed for him, her fingers bent in at the ends like an animals. He dodged her with ease, she was human but…something was off.

She was still growling. She was glaring at the vampire in front of her without a single sign of fear.

It made no sense. Humans didn't act like animals. Even Mary who was technically from a time of primitive humanity didn't act like this. The girl in front of him was acting like an animal.

She was an old soul.

This time when the girl lunged for him he caught her, carefully, around this wrist, pulling her into him and against his chest. She screamed, an agonizing sound. A raw terrible sound. The girl fought against him, trying to tear at his skin with her nails, trying to escape.

It was a fruitless effort. Her nails dug uselessly at his marble skin.

Over the terrible screams coming from the girl he heard something else, the faint sound of leaves and branches crunching beneath feet. He focused slightly, drowning out the screaming. He couldn't place the number of them there but he could smell them. He could tell what they were. Shapeshifters.

He dropped the girl and she tore off away from him, running across the ground on her hands and feet. While she ran she made a sound that was, without a doubt, a howl.

Maybe he should've left but he was curious. He climbed out from behind the rock formation he had settled down into and watched as around eight wolves emerged from the trees that the Old Soul had taken off into.

Each of the wolves stepped forward in unison, teeth bared at him, growling lowly.

The front one stopped, staring at Collin. He made a quiet sound somewhere between a growl and bark and the other wolves glanced at him before turning and bolting into the trees.

He stepped towards Collin slowly, his head low.

Collin wasn't sure what to do. He was confused by the girl, the shapeshifters, the entire situation.

After a second he shifted. The man in front of Collin was old. By human terms he had to have been at least eighty. He was a shapeshifter though. He could've been so much older. There was something else though. Something familiar. He felt he should know this man…what was it about him?

Collin tilted his head slightly, watching as the man opened his mouth then shut it then opened it again. He was staring at Collin like he'd seen a ghost.

"You look like your mother." He finally spoke. His voice cracked like someone who had just woken up from a deep sleep.

His mother.

This shifter had known his mother?

That wasn't possible.

Almost everyone his mother had known was dead. Brady, Alec, Lila, and Mary were all that were left. Alec hadn't shown his face in years though.

This shifter couldn't know his mother.

Collin returned to his defensive stance, growling at the shapeshifter. "Who are you?"

The shifter held his hands up in defense, taking a wary step backwards. "Your mother didn't know me. Not really." As he spoke the way his voice was cracking slowly dissipated until he sounded normal.

Collin ran through his memories -his mother's memories- trying to place the face of the elderly man who was standing in front of him. It clicked. A single memory.

She was in the living room window staring outside. Her parents' backs were to her but she could see the man standing there. This man. He was much younger. Somewhere around twenty. He had a sad smile on his face, he was talking to her parents. She didn't know who he was. Her parents had avoided it.

"Who are you?" Collin breathed out, staring at the man.

"My name is Billy. I am your…grandfather. I was your aunt's father."

He'd heard Billy's name mentioned while going through Quil's memories. Billy. A low growl rumbled in Collin's chest. He hadn't seen a single memory where Dol's father had been spoken of positively.

He was tempted to lunge forward towards the man, to kill him.

He could do it.

It wouldn't be hard.

Something stopped him though.

"I'll take it you've heard of me." The old man grimaced. "I am aware of the many, many mistakes I made…"

"You should've been there." Collin growled out. He knew. He knew that the only reason his grandparents had been in Volterra was because of this man. He could've gone to Forks and helped her wake up Dol but instead he sent them to Volterra. He hadn't _warned_ them.

"I should've." He breathed out, looking up at the sky. "I shouldn't have left my Imprintee. I shouldn't have left her. I should've stuck by her side. Most of all. I shouldn't have slept with her. I never should've let it go that far. I did though. I ruined that woman's life." He paused. "I will never regret it though. Not for a single day. Do you know why?"

Collin didn't speak, he just stared at the shapeshifter in front of him.

"Your family saved the world. They might not have seen it that way but they saved the world. If my daughter had won that final battle everything human would've been destroyed. I will never call myself part of your family. I ruined that chance a very long time ago. I won't ask you not to kill me."

After a moment Collin left his defensive position, watching the shapeshifter warily. He didn't trust him. Not at all. He hated him. He'd basically caused all of his mother's suffering.

"Who is the girl?" He looked past the shifter, eying the tree line with interest. Somewhere out there he could hear the human girl's heartbeat. Ever so faintly but still there. She was close.

"We don't know." He paused. "This pack, we shut out our humanity. We don't think. We let ourselves _be_ wolves. We experience it in every way possible. About eight years ago this girl showed up out of nowhere. Most of us didn't realize what she was. Humans don't come out here. We attacked her. Out of fear. Out of instinct."

"The scars." Collin stated absently.

"Mala saved her. She took her in as her own."

"You raised her as a wolf." Collin said, thinking of how she'd acted. Animalistic. No humanity.

"She became part of the pack. A feral child. If it wasn't for the lingering humanity in the pack she'd have probably died."

 _She almost died just now._ That's what he almost said. He'd almost killed the girl. Still wanted to. She was a human body. A close one. She had exactly what he needed to survive.

He wasn't hungry though.

He didn't need to feed on her.

He just wanted to.

He felt compelled to. He shouldn't have. Anger. That anger that had been boiling since his mother's death was beginning to resurface. He still had a message to send. Bodies to drop.

But this girl.

"Her eyes." He said after a moment.

"She's got the eyes of a Spectral shifter. She's human though."

Of course he didn't know. They hadn't publicized the Old Souls. Not dying was one thing but rebirth was entirely different. Eternity to never truly die. The kind of power someone could gain by rebirth. It was safer for Brady if no one knew about it.

This pack was in the middle of nowhere. They were basically animals. Sharing the information didn't seem dangerous.

" _She is an Anima Renatus, Old Soul, the reborn souls of old. One cursed to eternity on Earth._ " He quoted the memory of what Mary had told his mother when explaining Old Souls.

"She's…an Old Soul?" His grandfather stared at him.

"Yes." Collin looked up at a tree.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, she was once someone else. Someone with enough power interlaced in them to resurrect them." He ran through his memories, everyone he'd ever seen die's memories. Who was she? Was she someone they knew or had known?

When Dol had been reborn she had been reborn to look like something that meant a lot to her predecessor. Mary had explained this to him. It was why Dol hadn't looked like her mother. But Brady had only one predecessor. He didn't have a huge impact on his own appearance. Which meant that if this Old Soul only had a few predecessors she probably would've taken on her parent's appearance.

Who was she then?

He was tempted to find his way to the nearest town and call Mary.

She was the oldest creature in existence. She would know something.

He was still pissed at her though.

After what felt like eternity of going through his memories he settled his gaze on the shifter in front of him. "Where did you find her?"

He looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure. I wasn't exactly aware when it happened. "

"At least tell me you looked for her parents." His mind was still reeling through his memories, trying to figure it out. Maybe she was someone he knew.

"Mala did. We couldn't find them." He paused. "She was someone else."

"She was. She doesn't know it. She might never know." Collin paused. "You need to try and draw out her humanity. You can't make up what you did to my family. You should've been there to save El. You should've been there to help raise Dol. You can't make it up. You can help this girl though. You _need_ to help her."

The shifter stared at him for several seconds before speaking, "You think she's someone you knew."

Collin didn't look at the shifter. "I think she deserves a _normal_ life."

"After what your friend did? What is normal truly?"

Collin growled and tackled the shifter to the ground out of instinct. He buried his forearm into the neck of the man. The shifter didn't change forms, he struggled but he didn't change. "Do _not_ speak poorly of her, Billy. Say what you want about anyone else. Do _not_ speak poorly of her though." The shifter chuckled weakly, staring up at him from where he was pinned to the ground.

"You love her."

Collin jerked himself off the shifter and backed away as the shifter stood slowly. "She's my creator." He said carefully. The truth was he did love Mary. He'd loved her since he was four. He'd idolized her. Mary was more of a sister to him than Daula had ever been. When it came down to it. That's not what the shifter was implying. "And she's my sister."

The shifter backed up slightly once he was fully settled on his feet. "Just like your mother." He nodded once. "I was curious." He held out his hand. "Collin Lahote. My name is Billy Black."

Collin narrowed his eyes at the shifter.

"That was a test?"

"Just because I wasn't involved in the life of my daughters does not mean I didn't know anything about them. They would've killed their own kids to protect each other. I wanted to know if you were like your mother."

"What is the point in testing me?"

He paused before finally choosing to speak. "We heard the calls. The calls of shifters from across the world. I was testing you because I wanted to see. I needed to know if you'd do it." Slowly Billy's voice took on a pained tone.

Something was wrong.

Something twisted in Collin's gut. It was something he couldn't place. Not at first. He knew the feeling. He'd felt it before.

It was the feeling he'd felt when the police had shown up to tell them Rose was dead.

The feeling that had jolted through him when they'd rushed his mother to the emergency room.

Dread.

Fear.

Pain.

"What's wrong?" The words didn't feel like his own. They felt foreign.

He should've recognized the dread sooner. He should've. He didn't though. The anger outweighed the fear.

"One of the alphas in Asia announced something to the world. She told us, 'We have the first. We have Mer. She is ours.'"

A low growl escaped Collin. He jerked his head in the direction he knew held the nearest town.

The first.

Mer.

Mary.

They had Mary.

His creator.

His sister.

They had no right.

"Where. Where in Asia."

"Collin, wait."

He jerked away as Billy tried to grab him. "If you touch me I will kill you."

It took four seconds for him to respond. "Russia. They're in Russia."

Just like that Collin took off into the forest. He'd deal with the Old Soul later. Right now there was something more important to deal with. Someone had Mary.

Despite everything he knew he had to make one stop.

He needed to see his brother.

While he ran towards California he focused his ability. This time with purpose.

He focused on Mary.

If she was dead, he wouldn't kill the one that did it.

That would be too easy.

If she was dead.

He'd torture them.

He'd make whoever did it regret their decision.

There was a painful moment as he focused his ability before he was sucked into a memory.

Not good.

The memory was complicated. Mary didn't think in words. She thought in images. Everything was pictures.

_I settled outside the treeline of the small village. The burning in my throat was mostly gone. Ak sat next to me, watching the people. She finally rose to her feet and pointed at one of the men before disappearing from sight._

_That one._

_That one was wrong._

_That one had to die._

_So I waited._

_I waited until the light was gone from the sky._

_Until the young man had drifted off into his shack._

_Then like the monsters that crept through the forest I followed him._

_It was easy._

_Effortless._

_I slipped through the animal skin and knelt in front of the man._

_I bit into his neck._

_He shouted._

_The others came._

_I killed them all._

_Somewhere around ten people._

_I killed them all._

_Blind striking._

_Blood covering me._

_Blood covering the ground._

Collin jerked out of memory, he wasn't sure where he was.

He'd been in Mary's memories.

He'd _seen_ her life.

He'd seen a memory from a very long time ago.

She wasn't dead.

She couldn't be dead.

He tried to dive into her memories again, he couldn't.

She wasn't dead.

She was dying.

He increased his run speed.

.-~**~-.

"Collin?" Brady sounded stunned as his cousin stormed through the door, he didn't want to think of how he must've looked. He'd spent the run crying without any tears to shed and plotting vengeance.

"Someone has her." Those were the only words he managed. They came out in a feral growl.

" _Collin._ "

He spun on his heels and glared up at his cousin. "I am _not_ in the mood."

Brady grabbed his arm as he spun, storming into the house. Collin was tempted to jerk away from his cousin's grip but he resisted.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been? I haven't seen you since a year before Aunt Bell died."

"We can catch up later. Brady, they have Mer. They have Mary." He turned when he spoke.

It was clear. In those ever-changing eyes. There was something older. Behind Brady's own shock was an angry child. That was who Collin needed. He needed the angry child. He needed Mer's brother. Ak's son. Not Brady. He loved his cousin but he wasn't who he needed.

"That isn't possible. I'd know. It's in my DNA to know. You must be wrong." There was a clear lie in his voice.

Collin looked away from his cousin. "I saw her memories. She's dying, Brady."

"What if you're wrong? What if your ability is adapting? Maybe she's not dying." Collin strolled through the house and walked down the small flight of stairs into the den.

He knew where he was going.

He had caught her scent the second he'd stepped through the door.

"Daula."

The old woman jerked awake, making a startled sound of protest before falling off the couch. "Collin!" The old woman complained, struggling to push herself off the floor.

He heard the sound of Brady's feet behind him.

"Where's Andy at, Dal?"

"Mexico. How's the murder going?" She responded, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Wonderful. Why aren't you with him?"

"We aren't speaking."

Collin shook his head and leaned against the wall. "Dal, you are truly pathetic." He remarked as their cousin followed him in.

"Says the bratty kid throwing a temper tantrum."

"It isn't a temper tantrum."  
Daula rolled her eyes at her brother. "Uh huh. I'll believe that when Brady admits half his choices aren't his own."

"I am not getting involved in this." Brady held up his hands as he walked over to the couch, helping Daula situate herself on the couch.

"You're more involved than any of us."

"Collin, no."

"I need Bur, Brady. I'm sorry." He moved his full focus to his cousin who had completely pulled his gaze away.

"I can't." _I won't._

Collin could read his cousin.

There was a reason he didn't like people talking to Bur.

He was terrified of him.

He'd seen what it did to his mother.

It had led to the death of his mother.

"Bur isn't Ak, Brady. I need him. Your imprint won't be enough to find her. We need Bur."

"I will do anything. Collin, I would die for her. You're asking me to give up myself to a million-year-old child."

"I'm asking you to help save _our_ _sister_."

"I can feel the love." Daula mumbled quietly, it sounded playful but there was light hurt etched into her words

"You know what I mean, Dal."

She physically waved it off and rose to her feet carefully. "Our family is so screwed. I'm going to cook. Brady. You should do it. You should let him out."

Brady stared at the floor for a solid minute after Daula left before finally answering, "If I do this, Collin." He sounded reluctant. "Don't let him get us killed. I have more family than just the two of you. I have to come back to them."

"I will do everything in my abilities to keep you alive, Brady. You know that. We're family."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Tonight. I won't give up control to him without talking to Lila."

Collin nodded reluctantly, pushing himself off the wall and strolling over to the bed. He lounged out on it and watched as his cousin left the room. His shoulders were slumped, his head dropped.

Collin shut his eyes and sighed. Bur had never been woken up. Not directly. None of them knew what he was like. They'd seen him beneath the surface many times before but never once had they seen him. Who he was. What he was like. Would he communicate or would he behave in that ancient way Mary had occasionally let slip?

He didn't know.

Rather than dwell on the unknown he chose to sink into memories. He didn't focus on who. He just allowed them to overwhelm him.

_I sat down in front of her. "I don't care what happens, Dol. Never let us lose each other."_

" _Never stop believing in me." She whispered and laid back. I lay down beside her and took her hand._

" _Never, Dol." I mumbled, suddenly feeling the exhaust from the night hit me at the same time that Dol fell asleep. A couple minutes passed and I noticed something, she had said she would return to her ghostly form when she fell asleep. Why was she still touching me then?_

_I kept waiting but she didn't change, she stayed solid. Oh no. What had happened? She told me she would go back to how she was but she hadn't. That was when I heard it. The clicking of heels. Oh no. Someone was coming._

" _Dol, wake up." I whispered in her ear._ _Dol, wake up. Come on._

_I jumped when the door opened. "What do we have here?" Jane's voice filled my ears and Dol started screaming._

_Everything following that. It happened in slow motion._

_Jane had picked up Dol off the floor by her hair. I was frozen –at first- then I was moving. I tried to get between them but I couldn't._

" _So this is the thing you've been seeing all these years." She smirked at me before turning and dragging a still screaming Dol down the hall behind her. I tried to keep up. I couldn't though._

_I was jerked back when an icy hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping my dead in my tracks._

" _Dol!" I shouted, struggling against the hand that held me._ Dol! _I added in my telepathic voice. Her screams continued sounding down the hallway as she was pulled further and further away. I spun around to shout at whatever vampire had hold of me because, at this point, I didn't care._

_I stopped._

_I stared._

" _Caius." I choked out. This was bad. This wasn't good._

" _Isabella." The way he said the words told me everything._

_I was going to die._

_He was going to kill me._

_I'd made a terrible mistake._

Dol! _I screamed the word in my head. I needed her. I needed her here. She could help me through this. She had to._

_She didn't respond._

" _You have made a grave mistake, Isabella."_

_I forced myself to calm down. It took me a couple seconds but I straightened my back and stared the vampire in the eyes._

" _I will take whatever punishment my actions have earned."_

_He smirked at me. "Oh, Isabella. You will wish we killed you. And your friend." I tried not to cry out in pain when an icy hand wrapped around my neck. It was hard. He made an obvious effort to put enough pressure to cause me terrible pain without actually crushing my bones._

_I couldn't give him that satisfaction._

_Rather than scream like I wanted to, fighting every raw instinct to scream and fight. I let him hold me by my throat, I ignored the agonizing feeling of my bones trying to crunch under his hand._

_I ignored the tears pouring down my face._

_All that mattered in that moment was not giving him the satisfaction._

_He carried me down hallway after hallway._

_Aro._

_Where was Aro?_

_We were going down._

_Further into the city._

_Deeper underground._

_I'd never been this far._

_I'd never been here._

_Fear._

_Just kill me._

_He threw me in a dark room._

_Pitch black._

_Couldn't see._

" _Oh, Isabella. Aro won't be able to save you this time. You'll rot down here. I promise you that." The sound of a door slamming filled my ears._

_So dark._

_Too dark._

Dol! _I tried to focus on my surroundings but I couldn't see. It was pitch black._ Dol, please!

_Nothing._

_No response._

_So lonely._

_Alone._

_I didn't know how long I was down there._

_It felt like years._

_Dol never spoke to me._

_She wasn't going to._

_They didn't feed me._

_They didn't give me water._

_Dol was gone._

_I didn't see Aro._

_I didn't see anyone._

_Dol was dead._

_She wasn't coming back._

_Hungry._

_Alone._

_Tired._

_She was gone._

_Alec brought me water._

_Alec brought a bit of food._

_I began to forget._

_Who was she?_

_Why was I here?_

_What had happened?_

" _Aro!" I choked his name out._

_I didn't know why I was here._

_Why was I being starved?_

_What had I done?_

Collin jerked out of the memory when someone touched his face. It took every ounce of his control not to go for her throat.

"Lila!" He growled the name, glaring at his cousin's mate.

"Come eat dinner with us." Immediately Collin regretted his hostility. She looked like she'd been crying, her voice cracked slightly with her words.

"I don't need to eat." He got up slowly, trying not to dwell on the painful memory he'd just experienced.

"Get your ass up and come eat with us." Then she was walking away from the couch and leaving him alone in the den.

He reluctantly followed her, feeling guilty as hell for putting them through a potentially lethal task. None of their kids were at the house. It was Lila, Daula, Brady, and himself. The three that were able to eat ate in silence while Collin stared at his plate.

"Do you know anything about Bur?" Daula finally asked, breaking the painful silence.

It took Collin several moments to respond. Mary had tried not to talk about Bur. He had pried occasionally but it was overly clear it was a sore subject. Unless she was the one bringing it up. "He was nothing like his mother. He was a good kid. He'd beg his mother not to kill. He'd beg Mary. Brady, you aren't giving in to someone that will mass murder. You're letting forward a young boy with pure intentions."

"Why do I have to let him forward? Why can't I just help you?"

"The ancient part of him that is bound to her. He will be able to find her. Brady, I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't ask you. I need her though."

Brady stared at his place for a long moment before responding, "you're too much like Aunt Bell. She'd have done anything to get my mother back. She loved her too much."

"I'm sorry."

"You aren't." Brady set his fork down and rose his gaze to Collin's. "Let's do this."

He got up from his spot, kissing Lila on the top of her head before walking out of the kitchen. Collin rose without a second thought and followed him.

"We don't have to leave."

Brady didn't respond to Collin's words as he continued on his path, opening the front door and walking outside. It wasn't difficult for Collin to keep up. Finally, Collin turned on the sidewalk and turned to face his cousin. "Don't let him get himself killed."

"I won't." Brady nodded once. "Bur." It felt weird addressing Bur. Only Mary had ever done it. "We need you to wake up. Wake up."

Nothing changed.

He tried to think of how Mary had woken up Ak. He focused on his sister's words from all those years.

She'd yelled.

Like a child.

She'd thrown a fit.

Maybe that would work.

"Bur! Wake up! We need you! Your aunt needs you! Your sister! Wake! Up!" Like a switch had been flipped in Brady he changed. When he blinked his eyes were changed from the ever-changing colors to the deep brown eyes that eerily matched Bella's memories of Ak.

His stance changed to that of someone that was typically scared, he held himself inward, his eyes darting around frantically.

"Bur?"


	3. Chapter 3

Mary wasn't typically careless. She really wasn't. It wasn't that she'd been taken off guard by the shifters. It wasn't even that she hadn't expected them to try to jump her.

What she hadn't been prepared for was the werewolves.

Almost all the werewolves were gone.

They were almost extinct.

She'd made sure of that when cleaning up the human race. They were too unpredictable.

The three werewolves that had _joined_ the pack of shifters tracking her had been one thing.

The fact that the three werewolves had been _aware_ of what they were doing had been an entirely different thing.

They had been _aware._ Werewolves weren't aware. They were mindless beasts. The fact that these werewolves had not only targeted her but also joined up with the shapeshifters had been more than enough to throw her off.

Even if she was strong, she wasn't that strong. Maybe if it had been just the werewolves she'd have been able to handle them. The fact that there was a pack of shifters tag teaming with the werewolves had been a bit more than she was able to handle.

She managed to knock one of the werewolves unconscious by catching him in the back of his skull with her ability but with them aware of exactly where she was she couldn't just vanish. She had to fight.

They managed to take her down by tearing off her legs.

Playing dirty by her rules. Taking a vampire down by removing their limbs was hardly fair.

She knew they couldn't kill her. It was physically impossible for her to die at their hands. It had to happen by the hands of someone she considered her brother. Either Brady or Collin had to kill her.

It didn't mean that these shapeshifters couldn't torture her.

For the most part she was unable to defend herself. With them watching her constantly she couldn't vanish.

She was stuck.

The shifters that caught her were of mostly feline origins, the leader was a tiger. She had a massive ego the size of Jupiter. Called herself the next leader. The true successor to Ak.

Mary hated it.

Those words tore at her every time they were spoken.

"Your sister was nothing. She was weak. All of that power and she died to the hands of something like _you._ A child." Mary stared at the brown haired shifter from her spot against the wall.

She was emotionally and physically drained. She had made the mistake of drinking the first human they'd brought her. The SH they'd pumped the girl full of had weakened her significantly.

"When I get out of this. You're going to regret talking about my sister like that." Mary laughed weakly with her words, digging her hand into the stone behind her and pulling herself into a sitting position. Having her legs detached from her body was an annoying inconvenience. Nothing more than that though. When she freed herself she would get them back. Then she would find out more about the werewolves that had caught her.

The shifter smirked, kneeling down just far enough away from Mary that she couldn't strike without the shifter noticing her intentions. "Your sister was weak, Mary. We've all heard the story. The shifter that surrendered. The shifter that gave up everything."

Mary hissed at the girl, baring her teeth. "My _sister_ wasn't weak. She may have been bound to a weak willed girl but she _wasn't_ weak. The girl you're talking about. My _sister._ She was going to destroy the world. She was going to commit genocide. I may not have respected her choices but she was _not_ weak. You will never be anything more than a weak little kitten. Continue to burn me alive. Continue to tear me limb from limb. Only my sister could kill me. She is the only one."

The shifter rose to her feet suddenly. "That isn't completely true, Mer. You aren't immortal. You have weaknesses."

Mary didn't respond to the shifter's words. There was nothing to say. She was right. Technically she wasn't immortal. She could die at the hands of Brady or Collin. If Bella had still been alive she could've died to her. It didn't matter. These shifters wouldn't know that. Even if they did they couldn't make either of her brothers turn on her. They would never kill her.

She was safe.

That was the only thing that kept her going when she was being burned alive.

When she was nearing death.

She didn't know how long they'd had her captive.

It would've gone by in the blink of an eye for someone like her if it hadn't been for the constant emotional and physical torture she was enduring.

"If I don't find my own way out of this. My brother will come for me. My only direct creation left. He will come for me. He will find me. I don't care where you have me hidden. You could have me buried at the core of the planet. He will find me. You don't want to be between him and me. You and your werewolf pals won't stand a chance against his rage."

She was bluffing. They had taken her down and she was twice as strong as any vampire was. If Collin or Brady made the mistake of coming after her on a full moon they would die.

Neither of her brothers were strong enough for something like that.

"Let your brother come. Please. I'm begging." There was a dangerous glint in the shifter's eyes. Under any other circumstances Mary wouldn't have cared. Other circumstances. Not these. These circumstances were bad though. They weren't good. Something was wrong. She was old enough to know that.

Fear was something she hadn't felt in years. Something she hadn't felt since her sister had overpowered her. She'd been prepared to die then. It had been her fate. Either she'd die or her sister would. It hadn't changed that she was scared. Scared for her, scared for her sister. Because one of them were going to die.

Now she was scared for a different reason. Scared her brother would die. Scared her nephew would die. Scared to be alone again. The curse of eternity.

There was no value left in her life if they got hurt in the crossfire.

_He can't come for me._

"You'll regret that, Kitten. Wanting him to come find you. He is ruthless. You call me a child but you are very wrong. I'm rational. I have purpose. He doesn't. He doesn't care who gets hurt in the cross fire."

The shifter didn't waver. Not a single sign of fear. In fact, she looked almost…smug. That dangerous glint in her eyes. There was something wrong here. Mary couldn't place it. She tried but she couldn't.

"Goodbye, Mer." The shifter rose to her feet and turned towards the stairwell.

Panic. No. She needed to know. "Wait." The word was foreign. She shouldn't have said it; but she did.

"Yes, Mer?" The shifter hummed. She knew something. What did she know?

A sickening feeling in her stomach. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Wise little girl, aren't you?"

A growl rumbled low in Mary's throat. "Kitten. What aren't you telling me?"

"That would ruin the fun, wouldn't it?" She heard the sound of the door at the end of the stairwell opening as two new shifters entered.

"What aren't you telling me!"

The female shifter didn't answer as she began her ascension up the stairwell.

Mary threw her head back against the wall, ignoring the sound of the stone cracking behind her.

They burnt her alive again. It was becoming a frequent pastime for them. They would burn her. It would hurt. She would scream. She couldn't die though. She would burn for hours upon hours. Burn until she felt like she was nothing. Until she thought she was nothing. She wouldn't burn to ash like other vampires. She would just burn.

When the fire finally went out she laid on the floor and stared at the ceiling. All she wanted was to feel nothing. Eternity hadn't prepared her for this.

In fact, eternity had given her freedom from the idea that this could happen. This was something she hadn't ever prepared herself for.

Pain, torture, suffering.

What she hadn't expected while her body was healing was a light nudge in her conscience. Something she hadn't felt in years. A light flicker.

Something was happening to Brady.

She wasn't certain what it was but something major was happening to him. She could _feel_ it. It didn't feel horrible; but it didn't matter. It was enough of a pull to remind her of why she needed to get out.

So she did the only thing she could do.

Using her ability to hide herself she attempted to do just that. She focused the ability, envisioning herself not there. Willing herself to not be there. Willing herself invisible. _They can't see you. They can't hear you. You don't exist. You aren't anything. You aren't there._

She knew they could see her. She could feel the eyes of the nearby shifters. They were boring into her. She was still visible.

It didn't stop her from trying. Trying to hide. Trying not to be seen. Trying to use an ability that had protected her for most of existence.

.-~**~-.

This was not something Collin ever thought he'd be doing. Seconds after waking up Bur had bolted back inside the house and locked himself in Brady's room. Obviously it wouldn't have been difficult for Collin to break the door down. It was the concept though.

They'd woken up a boy who had no experience in the real world. It would've been plain cruel to chase him. They'd have to try calm behavior. Coaxing him.

"Bur, please." He leaned against the wall and watched Daula who had pressed her head against the door, her hand resting on the handle. "Come on. We need you. I know it's scary. I know it is. But, Bur. We need you. Just talk to us. Let us try and fix this."

Something about Daula trying to coax their cousin who was being possessed by an ancient spirit was almost comical. It took most of Collin's willpower not to laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

"Go." The one word spoken from the other side of the door was shaky. The word was said as though it was foreign; and perhaps it was.

Daula lifted her head away from the door and gave her younger brother a hard look. "Collin, this was a bad idea."

He couldn't help but growl at his sister, baring his teeth at her.

"It wasn't a bad idea. We need Mer. We need our sister back."

"At what _cost_ , Collin." She wasn't phased by the growl. "He's a kid. A damned _kid._ You woke him up and threw him into a time period millions of years following-" There was a click from the door as it was unlocked, Daula let go of the handle and stepped away as the door slowly opened. The boy trapped in the man's body emerged, his gaze flicking between the two of them.

The two siblings stared at the Old Soul for several long moments before finally he turned his focus to Collin.

Bur held up his hand with his palm facing the younger boy before turning it into a fist. He ducked his head slightly, in a faint nod.

Very rarely did Mary use her old signals. They simply didn't have enough language back then for their signals to have use in modern age society. This signal, he wished he knew what it meant. He didn't though.

"That means…he'll join…or follow you." The two siblings jerked their focus to Lila who was standing at the end of the hall behind Collin.

When Collin returned his gaze to Bur he was grinning like a fool, clearly overjoyed at the sight of Brady's mate.

"How did you know that?" Daula asked after a moment.

"He taught Brady. Always sitting in the back of their mentality. Influencing him slightly." She paused for several moments before she lifted her hand up and rotated her hand in a circle before moving it to her heart then holding her hand up level with her mate's. It was an awkward signal to use from several feet apart. Even more awkward considering the situation. But the excited sound that escaped Bur's mouth was enough to make all of them smile.

"Family. Bur, go save Mer. Help her."

"Okay." Bur pushed past Collin and made his way down the hall, pulling Brady's mate into a tight hug. The whispered words that came from his mouth flowed effortlessly. Bur was completely capable of talking in full blown sentences. "Lila, we are the same. Me and him. I feel what he does. I won't let you lose him. I swear on the life of my family. I won't let you lose him." When they pulled apart Lila had tears in the corners of her eyes. Rather than address it immediately Collin chose to not comment on what he'd heard. For now.

The two stared at each other for several moments before Lila nodded and turned away. "I have to go pick up Era. Dal, you should come with me. Kiddie One and Kiddie Two are going to bail soon and I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone."

"I'm not gonna do something stupid." Daula's voice held a hint of a lie.

"Dal, go with Lil." He turned on his sister, giving her a hard look. "Then, when you get back, call your dumbass husband and tell him you're leaving him. Because you should've done that six years ago."

"Coll-"

"No. Dal, you're my sister. I should've said this a long time ago. Dump him or I'll kill him. End of story."

Collin had silently debated this course of action for years. Andy had been a great kid. Him and Daula had grown up together. They'd gotten married. Then they had drifted. Andy had turned into a narcissist over the years. It had driven Daula away from him slowly but surely. That was why he hadn't been surprised to see her on the couch.

"Collin, you can't hurt him." Daula was staring at her brother with wide eyes.

He smiled darkly at his sister. "Dal, mass murder was fun. Killing your narcissistic husband would be satisfying. Dump him or he's going to die. Really, he might die anyway. Dump. Him."

Buried deep in his sister's eyes was gratitude. She would never admit to him that she was grateful but she was. "Okay." She finally told him with heavy reluctance in her voice.

He stepped into his sister and hugged her briefly before pulling away and looking down the hall at Bur and Lila.

"Go get your granddaughter. Tell her to keep an eye on her aunt."

Lila gave him a tired smile before turning and disappearing from the hallway.

"Dal, go."

"Thank you, Collin." She made her way down the hall, pausing to look at Bur. He stared at her for a moment before resting a hand on her shoulder and smiling awkwardly. She nodded before quickly disappearing around the corner.

Then Collin and Bur were alone. The Old Soul stared at Collin for several moments before turning on his heels and making his way down the hall towards the kitchen.

This was a weird enough situation that Collin wasn't actually sure what to do. Did he follow Bur or did he leave him alone?

They needed to get to Mary though.

That was reason enough to make him follow his cousin/the Old Soul down the hall into the kitchen. The Old Soul was in the freezer pulling out a carton of ice cream, Collin stopped dead in his tracks at the door frame.

"Bur-"

"Shush." The younger boy held up his hand, glancing at the boy before grabbing a spoon from a drawer and climbing on the counter. Collin couldn't stop staring.

The ice cream.

His mother had always given him ice cream in times of distress. It wasn't unlikely that she'd done the same with Brady. How aware was Bur?

"It's weird." Bur finally said as he scooped the ice cream, staring at it for several moments before taking a bite of it.

"How aware have you been?" He didn't look up at Collin as he took a couple steps into the kitchen.

"When Mer was around I would wake up. It was…weird. I was there but I wasn't. I would sometimes crawl through the cracks. Make Brady do things. It was pushes in the right direction." He stabbed at the ice cream as he spoke. "Mer was here. A bit back. She…was teasing us. Stabbing at me." The brown eyes in his cousin's skull lifted, staring into Collin's. "You were murdering. Lots of death. We heard about it. Why? Why were you doing it?"

Guilt flooded Collin, for the first time, he felt guilty for what he'd done. Killing all those people. Killing them in spite of Mary. Just to make a threat that he _knew_ he couldn't go through with. "I was angry."

"It wasn't her fault." Bur took another bite, his gaze never leaving Collin's.

"She could've saved her."

"She could've saved me." Collin's eyes widened. She could've saved Bur? All those years ago?

"Back then…my mother was the only one. The only…shifter" The other boy seemed to struggle through his words. "I was…human…if Mer had bit me…she would've saved me…the hard choice she made…was letting me die. Because I didn't want her to save me…"

" _I'm watching my sister die. I'm about to lose one of the few people in existence I love. I'm sorry you don't like it. I'm sorry it breaks your heart. I'm having to watch her die too. I have fifty different ways I could save her but she won't let me do it."_ Mary's words from outside the hospital rang through his head.

" _She won't let me do it."_ He hadn't let her do it.

The reason it had affected her so bad.

If he had looked back on the situation without this knowledge he would've assumed that she was in such bad shape because she'd been forced to kill Ak. Except she hadn't wanted to save Ak. She'd been prepared to kill Ak.

Bur, her nephew and brother. One thing would be to watch him die and have no way to save him. An entirely different thing would be watching him die and not being allowed to save him.

Bella.

Watching her die and her not letting them save her.

_History repeats itself._

"I'm an ass." Collin whispered quietly.

The shifter smiled sadly, "you didn't know." He set the ice cream aside and jumped off the counter. "No more killing to kill now that I'm awake. Feed if you have to. That's it. Now we have a sister to save."

As the Old Soul made his way to push past him Collin grabbed his arm, "Bur?"

"Family is family. Call me your cousin, call me your brother, call me your Nephew, anything you want." For a brief second Collin could almost see the young version of Brady standing there with him rather than the older man he was. Someone his age. Someone Mary's age. His…cousin took his shoulder in his hand and made the ancient motion for family. "Mer needs us."

Collin nodded slowly and followed his cousin as he made his way out the door. It was a bit unnerving, getting in the car with the Old Soul. Especially since he insisted on driving.

He wasn't worried about getting hurt himself, the fact that Bur was an ancient soul of a child was a bit unnerving though.

"Relax." Bur looked perfectly content behind the wheel as he started the car, Collin frowned but chose to lay back in his seat and shut his eyes. Bur had promised Lila he'd keep Brady safe. If he was anything like the rest of their family, there was no way he would break that promise.

Not being able to sleep was an issue for most vampires. Not him. Instead of suffer through the boredom of the trip he chose to sink into the back of his mind and dive into memories.

This time he allowed his subconscious to choose who he would relive the life of.

It was another one of those…off memories.

He was an onlooker. Every face he saw in the room was familiar. He'd seen them in memories before.

This memory was new though. He'd never seen this memory.

The room they were in wasn't extravagant in any way. It was a rounded room with a tall ceiling, at the back of the room was a large table that stretched for half the length, Zafrina sat on the far right with her sister next to her. On the far left Vladimir was sitting back with his legs on the table, looking extremely uninterested. On the right side of him Stefan was watching the entering group quietly. In the middle of the front of them, inside a small metal cage was a girl who was only about a year older than the Dol he caught sight of in the memory.

This girl had short black hair and copper skin so covered in scars and cuts that Collin couldn't look away. The girl was beautiful, past all the scars and gashes, she was beautiful.

Collin wasn't sure where this memory was going but he knew he didn't want to see the outcome. Rather than continuing to torture himself with the unfamiliar girl he moved his gaze to check out the remainder of the room. Lining the outside of the room were several stands, on the right side there were around thirteen vampires piled in the stands.

"Restrain the human." Senna spoke from her place, the second the vampire Collin recognized as Laurent made a move towards the human, Mike. Andy's father. Things changed.

He saw as Dol vanished completely from sight. He didn't see her for what felt like years before she was suddenly slamming into Laurent. Collin moved closer to the scene as Edward grabbed Dol and pulled her off before she could grab Laurent's head. A growl tore through her, not sounding human at all, it sounded like that of a wild animal.

Edward wrapped his arms around her and hissed in her ear, "if you don't calm down there will be serious problems." Dol growled again, a lot calmer than the last one. Collin watched as she took a deep breath and let it out. His gaze followed her as she looked towards the front of the room, straight at the two girls.

"No one will lay a hand on him without his or my permission. Do whatever the hell you want to me but not one finger on him, I will kill anyone who tries to do otherwise. I don't care if you send the entire city after him. Not. One. Finger."

Zafrina made a move to stand but Stefan spoke before she could do or say anything. "Do not touch the human. We have more important matters at hand."

Collin was drawn back to the girl in the cage again. Who was she? Who? He made his way towards the cage, kneeling in front of the shifter who was laying on the ground of the cage. She looked so weak, vulnerable.

He wanted to help her. So much.

He drowned out the chatter between the two groups. That wasn't important. Not right now.

The lack of knowing the girl in the cage was important.

He wasn't sure how long he stared at her before she began shaking more violently than she had been before from what he imagined was fear from the situation.

That didn't make sense though.

If he looked closer she was clearly shaking but…

Her head hadn't left the ground but her hand had moved up, she was tearing at the skin on her arm, clawing at the skin until finally she'd drawn blood. She was hurting herself. That was why she'd begun shaking more.

Using the blood on her arm she began running her finger across the floor.

She wrote one word.

One word she shouldn't have known.

A word that was impossible for her to know.

_Collin._

It was plainly clear in the blood on the floor.

She'd written his name.

How was that possible?

"After this trial you and your sister are to leave the city. I do not wish to put you on trial but if you do not leave after the evidence presented here today I will be forced to do so."

"That-"

"I understand, Stefan." Zafrina interrupted Senna before she could say whatever she had to say.

"Leah?"

The girl in the cage lifted her head slowly, looking at Maggie.

Leah.

This was Leah.

"Leah?" He asked out loud, the girl's gaze flicked to his ever so slightly before returning to the red headed vampire.

He'd heard Leah's name. He'd seen memories of her in her jaguar form from his mother. A child in Emmett's memories. Of course it was Leah.

She _saw_ him.

Edward had always told them Leah had thought in pictures. Never coherent thoughts. Never words.

In a memory.

She _saw_ him.

"So Leah can be released?" Dol's voice filled the air.

"She can be released." Stefan said quietly.

He looked up in time to see Dol move for the cage. She stopped dead in her tracks.

The entire room looked completely confused. Everyone staring blankly.

One of the Amoz went through Collin, tearing open Leah's cage and breaking her neck with ease.

"Leah!" Collin wasn't sure who said it, there was a brief moment of silence following the terrible cracking of Leah's bones.

Saw him.

Memory.

Why was he here?

The entire room freeze framed.

He couldn't let her die.

Not sure how he did it, he froze the memory there.

Leah lifted her head from where she had laid slumped in a pile.

_Stop._

The one word from her rang through him. She didn't speak it but he felt it.

"Stop what?" He asked, staring at the girl as she stepped around the vampire, cracking her neck back into place.

 _Dwelling._ The female shifter stepped towards him, searching him.

"I can't. I wish I could but-"

 _Have to._ She reached out, touching his face.

"Why?"

_History can't be altered. No matter how much you wish it would. Don't._

The female shifter stepped into him and leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "I didn't think it could…"

_You did. You began to wonder. I died a very long time ago and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. If I'd lived. I would've Imprinted on you. Years after this you would've been born and I would've Imprinted on you. That's why you're drawn._

"How are we talking?" He tried not to wonder what could have been. There wasn't any reason to dwell on that. Not if she was right.

 _I was born with a broken mind. My mind didn't work right. Not on a normal plain. I was more susceptible to things. Things like you. The eight ball. The boy who-_ She stopped in her sentence. _Forget that. You don't know yet. Collin, do what you need to do. Save your family. Don't try to alter history._

Then he was alone again and the world was sinking away around him. He was waking up.


	4. Chapter 4

"Collin" At the sound of his name he was jerked awake.

 _Leah._ Her name rang through his skull. There was no way he was done with her. She was dead. He could actively seek out her memories. There was more he needed to learn about her.

" _Collin."_ Blinking several times, he moved his gaze to his cousin.

"Um, yeah?" He asked stupidly.

"What happened here?" Then he saw the pained look and truly took in the surroundings.

He knew what this was.

They were in what had once been a city. A city that had once housed at least a hundred thousand people. It was dead. The streets were empty; the city had been wiped off the map. It was one of many.

_Five billion people wiped off the face of the planet._

"Do you want the answer to that?"

"Mer." The way he said it was defeated it, his grip tightened on the steering wheel and his shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry."

"How many?"

It would hurt him but answering honestly was the easier route, "around five billion people total."

The car skidded to a stop. Collin wasn't sure what Bur would do.

"Stay." One word from Bur as he threw open the door and jumped out. Of course Collin ignored the order as Bur took off in the direction of one of the buildings, following his cousin closely.

If Bur was bothered by the blatant ignoring of what he told him to do he didn't remark on it.

The two stepped through the shattered glass door of one of the old broken apartment buildings. "Bur, what are we doing?"

"Listen." The word was barely whispered.

Rather than questioning the Old Soul's reasoning he did as told; focusing until he heard what he was supposed to be listening for. Footsteps; ever so light. How had Bur heard that from the car when Collin hadn't? Bur was technically in a shapeshifter's body.

They made their way through what had once been the lobby of the apartments. There was still dried blood on what had once been a receptionist's desk. The scent of death was strong in the air, a scent that had been clear outside but was even more potent inside. Collin had to wonder how many people had died in this building alone.

In cities like this Mary had gone to the center, made twenty or so newborns, and let them loose. Being careful was something she always did though. She'd cut off the city from the outside world, blackout the power, cut off radio waves using one of her less advanced abilities. The newborns would kill and change the occasional person until the town was nothing.

The damage done by her would forever impact the Earth. It wasn't the same place his mother had spent the first ten years of her life in. Cities like this one were graveyards. Places full of blood, bad memories for humanity, and the occasional long dead corpse.

As they passed through the lobby there wasn't much thought on them making their way past the long dead elevator towards the stairwell.

It was interesting to watch the Old Soul interact with things that he would've never seen when he was alive. Now that he was paying attention it was easy for him to notice the brief stares Bur would give things. That constant interest that he had seen in memories of Dol. The same interest that Brady had tried to keep hidden over the years.

There was no doubt that he was related to them. By a long screwed line but he was still related.

As they made their way up the stairwell Bur moved silently, if it wasn't for the heartbeat in his chest he would've been dead silent. It was interesting. The more he observed Bur the more interested he became. It was almost like he was staring at a younger version Dol. The Dol who hadn't been corrupted by Ak's quest for power.

The door to the fourth floor was standing wide open. They probably should've taken that as a sign that they should be at least slightly careful but what threat could one vampire possibly be?

Of course the big question was why they were bothering with whoever this vampire was. Mary needed them and they were…what were they doing?

"B-"

"Brady knows this one." Bur cut him off before he could finish asking the question.

The scent of the vampire upstairs wasn't familiar to Collin. Whoever it was, it was someone his family hadn't thought to or wanted to introduce him to. But if Brady knew them it was likely that he hadn't seen them before in memories.

As they passed through the doorway they made their way down a small hallway to a door with the number forty-seven plastered on the door that was cracked open.

Whoever was there probably thought that it was Brady and someone Brady knew. While they weren't completely wrong there was the problem with the lack of information. Brady had known his fair share of unpleasant vampires. The vampires that Collin had avoided on principle.

When Bur pushed open the door the entire atmosphere changed. The death that hung in the air was replaced by charged rage at the same time a tiger tore through the air towards the brown haired vampire standing in the middle of the room.

"Brady, wait!" The vampire panicked, shooting a confused look in Collin's direction before he turned and jumped out the window.

That vampire had been familiar.

Painfully familiar.

Bella's biggest regret.

Collin didn't think as he charged past Bur who had stopped at the window. Flinging himself out the window he landed a couple feet behind Alec.

"I recommend stopping now, Alec." He hissed at the older vampire.

Reluctantly the other vampire turned around, holding his hands up defensively. "You smell like your mother." He said quietly.

" _I should have killed Alec. For Dol. I didn't though. It was the right thing to do."_ His mother's voice rang through his head. After living through the memory of Dol's first real encounter with Alec he'd asked her about it. He'd still been a quarter human then. Back then he hadn't been able to control who he saw the memories of.

"I should kill you."

"Collin, right?" He asked, ignoring the threat though the fear plastered on his face was clear. "You have a reputation. Almost as much of one as your sister." Pause. "That wasn't Brady."

"You let Jane kill her."

"I didn't…" The younger vampire swallowed, running his hand nervously through his hair and looking away. "Collin, look. I loved Blue. I loved your aunt. I honestly did. I didn't want my heart broken but it happened. No matter how much I fought it I wasn't able to stop it. Every day since I left I have regretted it. When I showed up at her house on Christmas all those years ago…I showed up hoping to see her. To see Blue. I knew she wasn't alive. I'd known for fifteen years but I needed the confirmation. Be-Isabella. She should've killed me. Ever since that night I've wandered aimlessly. My sister died. Do did the woman I love."

 _Kill him._ That was what he wanted to do. Anger was still boiling deep in him. Killing him wasn't an option though. Not out of mercy. Not because it was the right thing. Not even because it was what Bella would've done. The only reason he wouldn't kill him was because death was what he wanted.

He deserved to suffer. If he'd been there _maybe_ things would've gone different. Maybe they wouldn't have lost his aunt.

"You didn't love her." The other boy stared at him, about to comment but Collin continued before he could, "Not in the way that mattered. Say what you want. Say you loved her. It wasn't in the way that mattered. If you loved her you would've stuck to her side. You wouldn't have left with your sister. No matter what you'd have gone back to her."

The other boy regarded him warily, "I loved her. But you're right. It wasn't in the way that mattered. I regret every second of it."

Collin heard the sound of claws hitting against concrete as Bur came up next to him, Alec's focus moved to the tiger when he began growling.

"That isn't Brady."

Collin nodded, "It's not."

"He's like Blue then." Alec averted his gaze from the tiger and stared behind the two.

"Bur, we aren't going to kill him." The tiger growled from next to him but made no move to go after the other vampire. "What are you doing here?" Collin finally asked Alec.

The vampire suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "I…I was sent here."

Sent here? "By who?" Collin was wary now. Who would send Alec here? What was the purpose?

"Mele." He swallowed unnecessarily and turned his attention to the ground.

Mele.

She was one of the five vampires that Mary had put in charge. She would hold gifts hostage. If he was sent here that meant that they'd utilized Alice's ability that Mary had had them steal from her a year or so before she died. If they'd been seeing the future…

"What did Mele want, Alec?"

"For me to tell you that the two of you are about to walk into a bloodbath. If the two of you go after Mary it will get you killed." Bur growled and made a move to charge the other vampire but Collin laid a hand on his side in warning, never moving his full attention from Alec.

"Any specifics?"

"No. Look, Collin. I didn't want to come but I did. I owe your family that and so much more. Take my warning or don't."

"Go back to The Head Council. Remind Mele that they have a responsibility. If they think that there is something going on it's _their_ responsibility to deal with it. Not us." Alec flinched at the warning tone in Collin's words.

"Okay." He said weakly.

The cracking sound of bones filled the air as Bur shifted forms. "Alec."

That was… Collin had to look over. That was Brady. It was clearly Brady. He held himself the way his cousin did, his eyes had returned to the ever changing eyes. _Brady._

When he returned his focus to Alec the other boy was staring at Brady with wide eyes.

"Br-"

"Shut up, Alec. Seriously. Shut your God damned mouth. I met you once. Fifteen years after the last of my blood died. To this day I have no respect for you. Your sister killed my grandmother. I don't blame you for my mother's death, but, Grandma El. That was your fault. It was all your fault. So go scurry back to The Big Five like the coward you are. Blame your loyalty on family all you wish. The truth is you are just a coward."

Alec stared at Brady with a hundred different emotions. "You look like your mom, Brady."

"Leave. Now." He growled out, Alec glanced between the two before taking off through one of the gaps between a couple buildings.

While Collin was tempted to go after Alec he decided it was best to side with Brady. Someone else's memories would never compare to memories that were their own. Collin didn't look over as Brady made his way to the car that Bur had abandoned, instead he stared after Alec between two old buildings. Collin barely noticed the vines that grew up the side of it or the busted out windows. He'd grown up in this world. For some it might've been bad but for him the destroyed cities were normal.

"Collin." Tearing his gaze away from the place Alec had once been he focused on his cousin who had –thankfully- changed into a t-shirt and jeans he had pulled from the trunk of the car.

"Why are you awake?"

"Bur was going to kill him. The kind of anger that we feel towards him…it's bad. His sister killed my grandmother. Then he just abandoned my mother when she needed him most. I never knew her. I wish I did. That vampire, he was in the dead center of me losing the remainder of my blood."

Collin could have said that he had them, that he had his aunt's family. It would've been a lie. Bella and Dol had been soul sisters. Not blood sisters.

Technically there had been Quil…though Quil made it clear he saw none of them as family, he was Brady's blood.

"Billy." Collin hadn't met to say the name but, there it was, in the open.

Brady blinked, staring at his cousin. "Who?"

"Um…" The young vampire struggled with his words. "I met your…grandfather…"

Brady's look turned stone cold. There were a hundred different emotions crossing his eyes but his expression was stone.

No one in their family had heard a word from Dol's father until Collin ran into him. Not directly. Sure he'd "apologized" for not protecting Ellen through Quil but none of them had actually heard a direct word from the man.

"Bur, take back control." Retreating. His cousin was retreating. Something he'd done a lot through his childhood from what Collin had seen through his family's memories. Rather than deal with problems he retreated from them. "Brady, wait." When his cousin's eyes remained the same he continued, "We all have every right in the world to hate the man. You more than anyone else. When we've got Mary back. I know where his pack is. I know the size." He didn't add on anything about the Old Soul that was there. If Brady's pack went after them he'd kidnap the kid. Learn more about her. Who she was.

"Revenge isn't always the option, Collin." Even though he said it there was a grateful look in his eyes, a light smile appeared on his face.

"I think our family has _earned_ this. And if you don't do it I will." That was a fact. If it wasn't for the issue with Mary, he would've probably killed him after their conversation was over.

"That, Collin, is something Bella would've never agreed with."

"I'm not my mom, Brady. I'm getting tired of people comparing me to her."

"It's not personal, Collin. Everyone gets compared to their family."

"Not as much as we do. Every little thing we do is 'your mom this' or 'your aunt that'." He paused briefly. "You know how much it sucks. You get compared to an ancient being for God's sake."

Brady held up his hands in surrender. "You're right. It sucks. It's annoying as hell. It's true though. We're too much like our family. You of all people know that. God, you know more about both of our mom's lives than she did." _Oh how right you are._ There was no way he'd mention the stranger memory trips he'd started having. Brady absolutely was Dol's son in the essence of curiosity. He would ask questions that they couldn't deal with at the current moment.

"Brady."

"I know. I'll talk to you later, Collin."

Then his cousin's entire composure changed again and he was staring at Bur.

Bur didn't speak, instead he turned and made his way back into the car. Collin moved without paying attention to his actions and before he knew it they were driving again.

"Being a shifter…is weird." The other boy finally said. "Brady doesn't do it much anymore…him and Lila are allowing themselves to grow old…"

At those words Collin's heart ached. It was bound to happen. Mary had cursed him with eternity. Unless he became suicidal she was the only one that could truly kill him. Him being her direct creation made it near impossible for another vampire to kill him. At some point Brady would die and Lila and their kids. Daula would pass. He'd be alone. Forever trapped in the body of a ten year old. One could argue that he'd have Mary. Which was true. He would. Mary was a fact. Something that would never stop existing unless he killed her. No one else was able to. Eternity like this though…Mary had told him how hard it could be. Back when she was human ten wasn't a terrible age to be. Most humans didn't live long after turning thirteen or fourteen in that time –at least based off her age when she first turned, they didn't have actual time like that back then-. Now she was perpetually trapped in the body of what modern age society saw as nothing more than a child. There were so many things she'd never get to experience. The trap of eternity. Something nagged at the back of his mind, reminding him that Bur was expecting him to say something.

"You were human before."

"I was. My mother didn't begin creating shapeshifters until after I was dead. I couldn't tell you when. I am the only other life."

Collin had tapped into his aunt's lives many times over the years, no matter how much he did it he never got glimpses of her ancient history. He would have to be alive for a couple million years, using his ability nonstop to live through every second of her life.

"Do you think if my mom had tried, she could've woken up any of the other past lives?"

"Absolutely. What your mother didn't know, for good reason, was when she bound herself to Dol's essence, what she did was bind herself to every incarnation of her. Dol didn't have an animal soul running through her as other shapeshifters do. The power that fueled her transformation was something else entirely. It was raw energy. That raw energy is the same energy that allowed her to steal every animal on the planet from every shapeshifter."

Collin thought this over, Bur said all of this with excitement. It almost sounded out of character for him. That kind of energy. The energy he was describing. How could something like that be destroyed?

"Don't think about it, Collin. I know what you're thinking and don't." There was a clear warning tone in his voice. What did Bur think he was thinking? That kind of energy…

"It can't be destroyed, can it?"

"Collin."

"Tell me."

Bur made a sound, the kind of sound that Mary would make when someone asked a question she wouldn't answer a question. This was thin ice if he was anything like her. Prying at something he didn't want to answer. "I shouldn't know any of this. I have no idea why I do. This is information that neither me or Brady would know." He sounded scared now. "Collin, they're dead. They will never come back. We need to get Mary back. Don't go poking around in this, Collin. Nothing good will come from it."

Collin didn't answer that, instead he rode in silence as Bur drove them towards the nearest city.

.-~**~-.

The plane ride to Asia wasn't fun. At all. It was Collin's least favorite experience of his life. Not because he hated planes, he loved planes, no, it wasn't fun because of a bratty kid sitting behind him and an idiot parent. If it hadn't been for Bur Collin probably would've killed off the entire plane and let it crash just on principle. No kid had any right to spend an entire plane ride doing everything they could to annoy the person riding in front of them. If the kid wasn't bad enough, the mom had done nothing when they'd asked her to deal with her daughter.

Now they were in an airport that was mostly empty somewhere in the middle of China and Collin was free to enact his vengeance.

"Bur, get the car. I will see you in ten minutes." Collin growled out as soon as he was free from the confines of the crowd.

"Coll-"

"If I don't feed now, I will go on a killing spree." He met the other boy's gaze, though it was clear it bothered him he caved, nodding and turning to leave him alone.

He picked up the trail of the mother and daughter that had been the burden of his problems the entire ride with ease. He followed their trail through the airport, straight down an escalator and into –to his luck- a bathroom.

Collin had developed an extremely cruel habit when it came to feeding. Especially with his vengeance streak on Mary. It wasn't enough to kill anymore, even for food. There was the strong need for someone to see his work. To see the bodies. If any other vampire out there did this The Head Council would have their head on a platter. He wasn't any other vampire though. They wouldn't do anything to him. They couldn't.

When he made his way into the bathroom he was content to see the bratty kid standing against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and not another person inside. Good. He could faintly hear the sound of the mother in one of the stalls.

When the kid saw him she smiled innocently, as if she was the kindest sweetest girl on the face of the planet.

Collin could've played it out. Talked to her, but he just wanted this to be done with. Without hesitating he walked straight over to the girl, shoved her against the wall, basking in the sound of her bones crunching between his hand and the cold stone behind it, and leaned into her. There was the distinct sound of screaming coming from the girl but he tuned it out, instead focusing on the sound of her blood rushing through her veins. _Blood._ He bit into her neck and drank her blood.

It was quick, effortless, somewhere in the back of his mind there was the sound of people screaming, someone trying to tear the boy away from the girl. They wouldn't, they couldn't. He was superior in every way.

As he fed from the girl her memories tried to worm their way into his main consciousness, the only other burden of his ability. His victims' lives would always try to make themselves front and center. It was easy to push them aside and focus on the easing of the burning in his throat, focus on the screams that escaped his victims.

Finally, he released the girl's corpse and, using his vampiric speed, he took off, leaving the dead girl, the screaming mother, and the cops that had arrived at some point during his meal lost and confused.

.-~**~-.

"Are you always this careless when feeding?" Bur asked after they'd been driving in a –completely legally obtained car- for an hour in the direction Bur said he _knew_ Mary was. He probably wouldn't have asked about it at all except the radio they had on just to keep it from being dead quiet had some person speaking on it in Chinese rapidly. Collin didn't understand a word of it but Brady knew Chinese which meant Bur knew it. There was little doubt that the Chinese man on the radio was talking about his attack on the girl.

"Only when there are annoying little asses that deserve it."

"Or when you're throwing a temper tantrum?"

Collin rolled his eyes and stared out the window at the landscape around them. He caught the occasional glimpse of animals running through the thin tree line and had little doubt that the native pack was watching them. He had half a mind to go after them and kill them but this pack was small. It probably wasn't the source of their problems.

"Why did you even ask if you knew the answer to the question?"

"I wanted to see if you'd lie to me."

"You see all that Brady does. You know me as well as he does. I don't lie to him."

"Mary lied to them about you."

Collin looked over at the other boy curiously, "What about me?"

"When you threw your fit. The years you were gone. She kept telling them that you were living life. She made up an entire story about you falling in love with a human girl."

Why would Mary have lied about it? Especially when it was obvious what the truth was? Mary had made it a point to never lie to Brady. She wanted his complete and utter trust for the rest of his life. Whose benefit would those blatant lies target?

"She did it for me. It didn't piece together in my head for a while. If it had I would've had Brady push her to find you sooner."

"She was looking for me?"

"She was."

Collin didn't know how to feel about that. She'd been captured looking for him. He still didn't know why she'd been caught.

Risking a peek he attempted to dive into Mary's memories, was she dead? Or close to death? Nothing. She was off her death bed for the time then. That was a good sign.

"Collin."

The car slowed down, pulling to the side of the rode. Collin didn't notice the problematic figures at the end of the road at first. His focus was on the distance where the numbers of shifters darting through the thin line of trees had slowly been increasing.

"Collin!" Collin jerked his gaze away from the treeline as Bur threw open his door. Three very large wolf-like creatures were running down the highway, straight towards them. Collin recognized these creatures from his family's memories.

_Werewolves?_

There wasn't time to dwell on the complete impossibility of the situation, three werewolves, no full moon, the middle of the day. It wasn't possible for them to be transformed. Collin wasn't strong enough to take on three.

"Bur, run." He hissed out as the sound of cracking bones filled the air followed by a low growl. Collin moved in front of the car, running through every possible option as quick as he could. The werewolves were uncomfortably close; he could see the sharp teeth that could tear through him effortlessly. This was how they'd caught her. Werewolves. Three werewolves working side by side.

There was the sound of claws tearing into metal as something hit it. Collin could feel Bur behind him, the tiger's breath blowing into his hair.

"Bur, leave." The tiger growled in defiance. "Fine, when I say, split, go right." Waiting, waiting, the three wolves were close, closer. "Now!" He shouted when the werewolves were less than two feet in front of them. Collin launched himself to the left, barely catching the sight as the tiger launched himself off the car in the opposite direction.

There was a loud crashing sound as the werewolves ran into the car. They howled angrily, Collin turned around just in time to see one of them lift the car and throw it in his direction. Part of his brain registered the two other werewolves going after Bur.

That wasn't good. The sound of screeching metal filled his ears as the car hit him, knocking him off his feet. There wasn't much time. Bur. Bur was in danger. Brady was in danger. He needed to protect Bur.

He lifted his legs, kicking the car off of him just in time for a massive wolflike creature to land on him. An agonized shout escaped him as sharp teeth tore into his shoulder.

 _Bur._ Rolling himself back, he caught his legs on the werewolf's chest and shoved, relishing in the sound of its bones crunching in an effort to ignore the agonizing pain of his arm being ripped from its socket.

"Bur!" He shouted as he forced his way to his feet, his gaze moving to his werewolf as it limped to its feet. The werewolf growled at him, teeth guns back over its teeth which were now covered in blood that was probably coming from whatever damage he'd done to it. _Two other werewolves. Brady. Bur._

There wasn't much of a choice. He would have to kill this one before he could help Brady. The werewolf lunged and Collin ducked beneath it, turning on his heels and launching himself onto the werewolf's back. He threw himself up the back of the werewolf, throwing his legs around its neck and squeezing.

There was a crunching sound as he squeezed with all of his strength, the sound of a distant howl filled the air as the werewolf slumped to the ground beneath him.

One down, two to go. He darted his gaze around, observing the area around him quickly as he looked for his missing limb. Nothing. His gaze moved to the werewolf. The missing arm. It must've ate it.

Collin dropped down next to him, throwing his arm into the werewolf's stomach and ripping it out. Tearing the stomach in half he found his missing limb and shoved it against his shoulder. Allowing the venom in his shoulder to mend it back into place he took off towards where the other two werewolves were.

Until he saw everything he'd been dreading.

There was one werewolf ducked over something he couldn't see but every ounce of suspicion told him what it was. The other werewolf was standing on its back legs, a victorious howl filled the air as it threw its head back.

No.

There was no way.

"Bur!" He shouted, eyes burning with unshed tears. "Brady!" He took off across the ground in his direction, there was no thought, just movement.

The howling werewolf dropped down, turning in the direction of Collin. There was no way Collin could kill them both. Brady. Brady couldn't die during this.

He'd been so distracted by the werewolves he hadn't heard them. The shifters that had been in the tree line had come up behind him. He didn't realize it until something with sharp claws hit his back, claws tearing into it as teeth sank into his neck and ripped his head from its place on his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

"Bur. Bur, wake up." Collin didn't remember much after he'd lost his head –in the unfortunate literal sense of the term.- There was the faint memory of being drug through thin forests and the sight of shifters of different feline types. "Bur. Please."

That voice.

Lifting his hand to rub his neck and verify it had been reattached, he mentally accounted for his limbs and was slightly pissed to realize his legs had been removed. He rolled himself onto his stomach and his heart sank.

That voice. He'd recognized it. He'd just never heard it sound so broken, so lost, so scared. That voice had always radiated confidence, power, even in her weakest moments Mary had never sounded so lost.

"Bur. Please." A bloody and torn up tiger was laying limp in the corner of the room, Mary's back was to Collin, he could see she'd been delegged as well. Half her body was laying over the side of the shifter as she hugged him. If he listened, there was the faintest sound of a heartbeat coming from Bur.

"Mar-"

She hissed at him, cutting his sentence short. "Don't. You brought him. Collin, you had _no right._ If he dies…"

He cut her off, dragging himself across the small room as he said the two words. "Save him."

"I can't." She was lying. The way her voice broke. It was clear she was lying. She was completely capable of saving him.

"Mary, I don't care what screwed morals you're living by. We _need_ him. _Save_ him."

Mary made a pained sound, "I promised. I can't." She buried her face in the tiger's blood covered fur.

"Screw the promises." He growled out, pushing himself onto his side and reaching out, grabbing her arm. She turned her head slightly. And damn. The guilt, the pain, the pure longing in her expression. She'd finally gotten her nephew back, her brother, and he was dying.

"I _can't._ " She returned her face to the tiger. "Promised Ak, promised Bella, promised him. I can't." Her voice broke as she said the words

"Break the promise, Mary. Promises can be broken."

"I _can't._ " _I won't._ Even now, in an impossible situation, she was holding onto what she truly believed was the right thing.

"He promised Lila. He promised he'd bring her mate back alive. _Mary._ It's not your choice. _Save him._ " The girl seemed to struggle with herself for a moment before, finally, she used the tiger's mangled body to pull herself up to his neck.

"Bur, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby boy. I swear. Only once. It'll hurt. You'll hate me for it. I'm sorry" She was so vulnerable. Collin had never seen her like this. She'd been calm and collected with her sister, matter of fact. With Bella she'd had a breakdown but it was anger, not pain. Not this. This was full blown vulnerability. "I'll have to wake him up..." The words were choked. "Gods, I don't want to do this."

"Why do you have to-"

"I need him to shift. He'll have to shift. If he's in animal form this'll kill him." Though she tried to make her voice sound confident and mechanical, it wavered and cracked.

"I'm sorry, Mary."

Her voice was a growl when she spoke. "Sorry doesn't change it. You shouldn't have brought him."

"You knew I'd do anything to save you."

"It doesn't matter. You shouldn't have. You should've known better." She moved her hand up to the side of his head and took a breath. There was a silent pause then the tiger started yowling and writhing in agony under her.

"Bur, Brady, shift. Now. Shift." Her voice was loud yet held that same fear and pain, she was trying to comfort him with her words. The tiger's agonized yowling was loud though. Either he was in too much pain to hear her or the yowling was too much.

"Bur!" Collin growled out loudly, making sure his voice came off as harsh, loud, authoritative. The way he'd heard alpha shapeshifters speak in the past. The tiger registered what was being said and he shifted forms. His human form was so much worse than his animal one. There were three large gashes running across his chest that began gushing blood the second he shifted forms. Their brother reached up and grabbed his chest, gasping and choking up blood. Clearly the damage done to him in his animal form was much worse in his human form. Mary dove into his neck and bit, their brother choked up blood, tears streaming down his face, she reached up and touched his head again. Silence. Just like that.

"I'm not supposed to do this. It's a rule." She rolled off him onto her back and stared at the concrete ceiling. "Collin, after this. You're getting turned back."

He stared at his sister like she was insane, she was joking, right? "You can't."

"I will. It's not a matter of wanting to. You put him in danger."

He honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing. "To save your life!"

"I didn't need saving!" She hissed out, her gaze jerking to him. "I am eternal, Collin. Do you know what you did by coming here? You brought the only two creatures capable of killing me into one place! You played into their hands perfectly!"

"I'm sorry the impossible werewolves nearly killed Bur. I am. But, Mary. You couldn't have thought that I'd leave you. We don't do that. Not me, not my mom, not you. _We don't do that._ "

The other regarded him warily, moving her gaze to the ceiling. "We can't get out of here. I can't hide. We can't move. Even if they can't kill me. They can harm me. They can use you. Collin, you shouldn't have done this. You should've let me rot."

There was an underlying message. While she spoke her hands moved from her side to just above her. First she flicked her wrist slightly in the direction of where Collin had absently noticed a stairwell. Following the gesture, she tapped her eyes once before dropping her hands to her side.

To him the message meant that's where they'd escape at. Something told him it wasn't the right message. It was obvious if they tried to escape they'd have to go that way.

Which meant he'd need to think less about it. Find the mindset of the girl he'd tapped into the memories of. Eyes. Even then it would've meant look. She saw something. Saw someone.

Someone was there. Or had been there. Maybe.

The gesture had to mean over there or out there. Away from where they were.

Or maybe.

The eyes. Out there. Look. Or out there. Eyes.

Maybe it was literal. Outside eyes. If they'd been human in one of those primal villages, they would've been wary of things outside their camp. Eyes in the woods, watching.

They were being watched. Someone who didn't have the primitive knowledge would have saw that as a sign to say they would escape through there. It wasn't though. They were being watched. Sure she could've said it. But the non-verbal communication was important. Her ancient signals would probably mislead the others. Especially the less obvious ones. The problem was he couldn't use them. He could barely read them.

Bur knew them though. He would be fluent in ancient had signals. When he woke up. "Mary, what will happen to him?"

"My dosed down venom will heal him. The animal essence in him will kill it off though. That's why I needed him in human form." While she sounded honest it occurred to him that he couldn't believe anything she said to him. They were being watched. If he'd translated correctly. If they were being watched then they were being listened to. Anything she said would be either a complete lie, partial lie, or an honest answer.

"How did they catch you?"

Silence. Several long moments of silence. Then she spoke, "werewolves. Three of them. They were working together."

The same thing he'd experienced. Werewolves didn't work together. Then there was... "When they attacked us, it was broad daylight."

Mary stared at him for a moment, worry covering her expression before she buried it. "That shouldn't be possible."

"You did it."

"It's not that simple. I'm tied to every vampire in existence. I can tap into the mentality of a rare few. Rose was half vampire. She was also one of those rare few. I flicked a switch that only existed do to her being a half breed. No one, nothing else, could make that happen."

She was lying. He could see it in her eyes. There was a clear lie in them. He couldn't pry into it right now. He wanted to. Every ounce of his being wanted to know. They were being watched. This wasn't the time to ask. No matter how much he wanted to know.

Instead he asked, "Why didn't they kill me?"

"There's the real question." He jerked his head around, causing himself to fall on his back as a woman appeared at the foot of the stairs. If he'd been listening he would've heard her arrive, her heart and footsteps would've been a dead giveaway. He'd been zoned out though. This shifter. She was familiar. From the memories of his family. _Kayden_. The girl who had been Dol's beta shifter.

"Hello, Collin."

He eyed the shifter warily. "Kayden."

"I've never met you before." She tilted her head, eyeing Collin curiously. "How do you know me?"

"I'm gifted. What are you doing here, Kayden?"

"She thinks she's Ak's successor." Mary laughed from behind him, a laugh that told Collin everything Mary thought of this woman. A mockery.

"Mind your tongue, Mer."

Collin stared at her. "You? You think you're the successor to _my aunt?_ " He couldn't help but laugh at her. No, he didn't respect Ak's beliefs. Partially because he sort of needed humanity to survive but also because she had a slight God complex. On top of that, there was no one that could come close to her power. Especially Kayden; he'd seen the memories of her. He knew who she was. "You used to kneel at her feet! You were nothing compared to her. She saw you as a pet with a nifty gift. A girl with a childish crush on the power she held. Nothing more." In truth, Dol had respected her. Kayden had held her curiosity. However, Collin wouldn't tell her that. It wasn't her place to know.

There were several long moments of dead silence. The shifter glared at him. If she was still half vampire he would've been thrown across the room, he had no doubt. As it was she was restricted. "Careful, Collin." She finally stated. "You can die." Then her gaze moved past Collin to where Mary was, Collin didn't dare follow her gaze and turn his back on the shifter, he watched her as she spoke again, "Mer, tell me how it feels. Breaking a that promise you've never broken before. Betraying the trust of your baby brother."

If she thought she'd get a rise out of Mary she was clearly mistaken, the breakdown of emotions she'd exposed before were gone. "Like I just saved my _baby brother._ " There was a dangerous undertone to Mary's voice. "I do recognize you now. One of the ones that got off easy. I killed so many creatures over those fifteen years faces just kind of _slipped away._ " The more Mary talked the more anger flashed across the shifter's face. "You were there when I reverted all those shifters. Let me tell you. Learning to humanize the batch of abominations my sister made was difficult. It was tiring. A very short amount of you I let free as a warning. I killed your sister in front of you, didn't I?"

"You really should've killed me, Mer."

Mary's voice was lethal when she spoke, "I won't. I will _never_ kill you." It was a promise. "However, I _will_ escape. I _will_ kill everyone you love, your pack, your mate, your child." A brief flash of fear covered the shifter's expression before it was buried. " _Every single person_ you love will die. You made a terrible mistake in harming my brothers. Their blood, it won't be on my hands. No. It won't. It will be on your hands. You chose to kidnap the most powerful creature in existence and make her your enemy. "

The shifter buried anything that resembled fear from her expression though it was basically radiating off of her. "Oh, Mer. I have each of you exactly where I want you." There was a brief pause before she continued. "You aren't escaping. I promise you that."

_Careful Mary._ The thought rang through his head, suddenly he was very worried. If she wasn't careful she'd say the wrong thing. Then again, did that matter?

"You might have me where you _think_ you want me, you really might. The thing is, the real place you want me, it's far away. Very far away. As far as you can get me. I knew Bur and Collin would arrive. Your pack has a big mouth. However, you made a terrible mistake by locking them in here with me. I needed Bur."

Something clicked in the shifter's expression, fear flashing across her face. "The Old Soul!" Kayden cried out as the sound of two shifters shifting filled the air, Collin barely had a chance to register what was happening before Bur was flying through the air over his head and slamming into the newly shifted Kayden.

There was no fight, she had no chance, Bur was larger, he had no heartbeat, he had the single advantage over her that he needed. He was half vampire. If Kayden had paid attention to the events, if she'd caught the lies, she'd have been fine. Mary had turned him into a half breed. An abomination by her standards.

At first, Collin didn't realize what had happened. The situation didn't really register in his brain. Until it did.

It had been a show. Why hadn't it clicked before with him. Soul siblings held telepathic links. Bella and Dol had always communicated telepathically with each other, no one had really known why. They had never thought much on it.

Until now. It clicked into place, the reason why.

Mary's confidence. Her and Bur communicated telepathically. This had been a trap. They'd been setting up Kayden. Drawing her in.

Bur had Kayden pinned to the floor, his teeth around her throat, she made a sound that sounded like the cat equivalent to a whimper.

"We couldn't risk telling you, Collin." Mary's voice came from behind him. "Soul siblings have telepathic links. If it hadn't been for you bringing Bur out, things wouldn't have gone like this."

"You…risked our lives…"

"No. The two of you were never in real danger. I've been listening to them talk. They planned to have one of you turn on me. They wouldn't have killed you because they needed you."

Betrayal. That was what he felt. She'd used him. Both of them had used him.

"I'm giving you one chance, Kayden. One. Let us go. Now. If you do, I will spare your pack, your family. If you don't let us leave, we will kill them all when we do escape. That is a vow."

The female shifter glowered at them, growling choked growls, teeth exposed, angry.

"Going once." Mary's voice was venomous.

The shifter looked defeated.

"Twice."

Lethal silence as she stared behind him at Mary. Her entire demeanor changed, to submission.

"Good choice, Kayden. Have one of your pack members bring down our legs. If you send down any of the werewolves, we _will_ know and we _will_ kill you. I promise you this. Werewolves cannot win a battle confined."

Collin had taken one of the werewolves down before, he had to wonder if there were only two of them left or if there were more.

There was dead silence for several minutes, except, if Collin listened closely, he could hear the shapeshifters up the stairwell walking around, complaining about Kayden messing up. Kayden would probably die from the sound of it. Her pack would kill her for submitting to the will of a vampire.

He couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about it. Even if he felt betrayed that they hadn't told him of what was happening, this entire pack had threatened the lives of his family. They had threatened his own life. They'd screwed up and they would pay the price for it. That was a promise. If Mary didn't enact vengeance on the mutts, he would.

Mary sang quietly, "Pay the price, pay the blood, pay with life, or your love, the cost grave, what you took, you will pay, little schnook." That childish tone in her voice said a lot. Sure she was a child, she always sounded like a child. This was different though, this was how she sounded when she was slipping into her youthful self. It was who she was, a child. No matter how ancient she was. When Mary began sounding like this she was angry, truly angry.

Angry enough that when the time came, she would snap, destroy anything and everything in a childish rage. This was how she'd sounded when she'd encountered her sister.

Bur was doing this to her. Not on purpose. It didn't matter though. He was doing it. Having that child awake would, without a doubt work to their advantage though. It would guarantee their escape.

"Little tiger, little girl, little liar, in the war." Mary's voice rang through the room louder, though not loud enough to drown out the clicking of the door as someone stepped through.

"M…Mer…I…h…have…y…your…legs…" A very young voice came from the stairs, stuttering and terrified. Collin's focus moved to the door as a girl no older than six with dark skin emerged. A girl that had to be Kayden's daughter. She was radiating fear, holding a bag that without a doubt held their legs. If she hadn't been a shapeshifter there would've been no way for her to hold the bag.

"Toss it here, little girl!" Mary's voice rang through the room again.

The young girl stared wide eyed at Mary before she did as told.

"My venom is quick, Collin. I don't want to be here when her pack turns on her. Bur and I have things to do, years to catch up on." She hummed quietly as something smacked him in the back, he didn't bother looking as he reached behind him and grabbed his legs, wasting no time in pressing them to the area they had been torn from.

Mary's venom did work fast, almost immediately the venom she had put on the skin of the limbs she handed him went to work, reassembling his body.

It took no time, he could feel his legs again. He had his legs again. Mary was already on her feet, strolling over to the young shifter. "You're coming with us, little angel. Nice little leverage to have, isn't that right, Kayden?" The girl squeaked when Mary threw her arm over her shoulder.

Mary was good. Collin couldn't take that credit from her.

The tiger growled, shifting forms beneath Bur. "You can't take my daughter from me, Mer. I'm begging you."

"I made a promise, Kayden. A promise I'll keep. She'll live, for now. But she is mine to take, lest I take your family and pack and leave you alone again. You crossed a line, tigress. You harmed my family. You forced to me to break a promise I'd never have broken in another million years. As a consequence, I must do something to get my point across. Clearly killing those you loved didn't work in the past. So instead I will hold one you love as leverage. If anyone in your pack, including the Children of the Moon, come after my family again. I have your daughter. There are much worse things than death."

Kayden stared wide eyed at Mary as she spoke, her heartbeat was loud, terrified, she was terrified.

Collin might've cared about the threat but he didn't. Anything to protect his sister. _"you're too much like Aunt Bell. She'd have done anything to get my mother back. She loved her too much."_ Brady's words rang through his head. It was true. They would do anything to save each other, no matter the backlash. No matter the blood.

Except Bur. Bur was the line, the line she would never cross. Bur would always come before Collin. Something told him that his life wasn't as guaranteed as Bur's. Bur was soulbound to her. They wouldn't have killed him. They might've killed Collin though. He very well could've died to the werewolf that came after him. It was striking to kill, not to maim.

"Say goodbye to your mother, little angel." Mary stated in a singsong tone as Bur backed away from the other shifter. The girl scrambled to Kayden's side as she sat up, shooting daggers at the ancient vampire while pulling her daughter into a tight hug.

Tears filled the woman's eyes. "I'm sorry. I am so so sorry, Ayla. I am so sorry."

"M…momma…don't let her…please…"

"Ancient tactics from an ancient creature." The shifter growled out. "I will receive my daughter back from you. I promise that."

"You expect me to be ignorant enough to return her to Vegas after you turned my own against me? Honestly, Kayden. I know nothing of you but I do not take you as an ignorant woman." This was the Mary Collin recognized. The ancient being, not the child.

"How-"

"I know where my psychic is and it isn't Vegas. That response was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. Now come, little angel. I have revenge to enact."

"Wait, Mer." As she spoke, she gently pushed her crying daughter off of her, kissing her cheek before pushing her in the direction of Mary.

"What do you want, tigress?"

"Keep her normal. Please keep her normal."

"I do not create abominations unless absolutely necessary. I am not my sister. Little angel, get on Bur's back. We must leave."

With that they made their way up the stairs and out. They were in a series of underground tunnels, lined in dirt and rock and support beams. It looked like it had once been a tunnel of mines, there was the occasional hole in the wall with a wooden door on it, some of them had shifters standing in the doorway shooting daggers at the group as they left. None of them made a move to attack the group as they left though. They didn't need to be lead out, there was a potent trail that clearly indicated the exit to the underground area. The scent of the werewolves was there but faded, they hadn't been present there in a day or so. It didn't mean that they weren't waiting outside the exit to strike.

"They won't attack as long as we have the girl. Even with her mother under the possibility of death, they will not allow the deaths of one of their children." Mary stated absently as she leaned into Bur's side.

Collin was jealous. He wouldn't admit it but he was, Mary was with her soulbound brother. It was different than her being with Brady. Very different. As Brady he was one thing but as Bur she clung to him, even if it wasn't physical.

"So did you plan on telling me you saw my memories?"

"How-"

"I was dying, I wasn't dead though. I felt your ability latch onto me. Like a parasite draining away at my life. I'm old, Collin. There are a lot of things you could've seen. I want to know what you saw." The answer was simple enough but he held back, mostly out of spite, he was still upset with her. She'd used him. "Collin, please. I know you're mad at me. I want to know though. I want to know how bad it was."

That was when it clicked. She was ashamed. Ironic since she didn't care about human lives. No. She was ashamed because he saw it through her eyes. She had been barely what was defined as human when she was younger. That was why she was scared. She strutted around as the ancient being but if someone saw her back then she wasn't this. She wasn't powerful as in she held power over vampires and other beings alike. She was a mindless killer being led on by her sister. Killing without purpose. Something Mary never did. She made it a point to have a reason for killing. Back then she had been an attack dog though.

"I saw you slaughter a village."

"How many people?"

Now, ten was hardly a slaughter by vampire standards. Really, it wasn't. Not now. However back then ten was probably the equivalent to a town, maybe even a city. That was something he couldn't be certain of.

"Ten." He breathed out reluctantly.

"Was it on her orders? Or was it my own choice?"

"Bloodlust."

"I was still young then."

"I think it was on Ak's first life. You were supposed to kill one. Only one. A man. You killed him then when the others came you killed the rest."

"I shouldn't have followed her mindlessly. The whole reason we became what we did was because she was killing. I killed her to save the lives of my tribe. I wound up becoming her blade. Her pet. I was an animal."

Bur growled quietly, pushing against Mary and sending her stumbling slightly.

"Bur, you changed me. You saved the human race. You truly did. You don't know who I was before though. I was a monster."

"So is that a soul sibling thing?"

"The telepathy? I'd presume so. Bella and Dol had a much more capable connection do to Bella's ability. It allowed Ak to communicate with her."

"So you don't talk to Brady?"

"No. Not telepathically. I mean, sometimes I can sense his emotions or slips of things he's thinking. Usually only when Bur is trying to surface though. Old Souls are the same soul but they are also different parts of the same soul." Bella's final conversation with Dol filled his head, the sight of all the other people she had been throughout history. "Technically, I'm only directly bound to the Bur part of their soul. As Bella was only bound to Dol." They finally followed a small dirt pathway out of the ground into a small cave that was only a few feet taller than Collin. There was nothing in it except dirt and rock walls as well as the opening into a small clearing covered in snow.

"I found another one."

"Another what?" Mary sounded confused at Collin's words, something that very rarely escaped her.

"Old Soul. In the Rockies. The pack that is raising her has raised her as an animal. She's a human."

"There can't be another Old Soul. There were only two souls lined up for rebirth. Are you certain she was an Old Soul?"

"Positive. Mary, why-"

"If she's an Old Soul…it could mean my sister was reborn again. This isn't a good thing."

"She's human though."

"That doesn't matter. Collin, where in the Rockies is she?" She stopped in her tracks and turned on her heels, looking angry and, buried in her expression, was fear.

Suddenly Collin was extremely wary for an entirely different reason. Mary was going to kill her. Something deep in him told him he _couldn't_ let her touch the girl. "She isn't an incarnation of Ak. Mary, she isn't. I _know_ she isn't."

"I can tell you that if I see her. Collin." Her tone was warning, Bur had turned around, pawing at the ground in front of him nervously. Bur wouldn't take his side. Ak was a threat to all of humanity, she'd killed him.

"No." Anger flashed through Mary's expression. "I won't tell you where she is, Mary. I can't. I'm sorry."

"If that is another incarnation of Ak, the world is in danger. You know that, Collin. You've lived her lives."

"Yes. I've lived her lives. Which means she's dead. Not walking around."

"You have seen a couple of Bur's memories, Collin. You know that isn't the case. Dormant soul pieces are considered death by your ability's standards."

"I won't let you kill her." His gaze darted to the trees that he could take off into. In theory, Mary wouldn't leave Bur out here with the potential of werewolves lurking nearby. It was possible for him to run and leave her. If she decided that Bur could protect himself though…Even if she loved him, she feared her sister more. She very well might kill him for the information. Or she'd let him go and follow him to the girl. Or she'd seek her out on her own. Was it worth risking his life to save a girl he knew nothing about?

His answer wasn't a choice. He didn't even realize he was doing it until he heard Mary yelling after him. Technically she was faster than him. She would be able to catch up to him. But it would take her time.

She didn't chase him. Collin couldn't decide which was worse, her chasing him or her leaving him. It hurt, it broke his heart, but he couldn't dwell on that, not now. He would need to decide which course of action to take now. Did he go straight for the girl or did he wait?

The answer was the same as his actions had been.

He'd rescue the girl. He'd rescue the Old Soul before Mary found her. It was all he could do. Keep her safe. Keep her alive. He'd endangered her by mentioning her to Mary. He had to keep her safe. It was his responsibility. He didn't understand why; all he knew what he had to.

Protect, save, rescue. Those words rang through his head as he made his way back towards America.


	6. Chapter 6

Running. Running across the land, using all his strength to swim across the ocean, it was all without effort. That was the only advantage he had. Mary would be stuck taking a plane with Brady and the girl. Or she'd ditch them at the airport and track him down herself. Either way, it didn't matter. Finding the Old Soul was the important thing. If he had to kill the entire pack to get to her he would because Mary would do it without a second thought.

This girl was going to try to tear his face off. It was inevitable. Getting her to cooperate was the real challenge. A challenge he didn't have much time for. If he knew who she was a reincarnation of he knew he could wake her. Or possibly him. There were a couple memories of Dol's incarnations that had been from the perspective of males.

There was a way he could test if this was his aunt. It was a simple enough test, he would attempt to wake her. If the Old Soul woke up to reveal his aunt then it was Dol and there would be a problem…if it wasn't her, could he wake an Old Soul without a name? Would he be able to yell "wake up" to the soul without them knowing who the past incarnation was? Something deep in him told him, no, it wasn't that simple.

His focus was drawn to his surroundings when he caught the scent, the pack. He wasn't far out and a couple of them were closing in on him. Probably the ones that were still somewhat human mentally. Rather than dive into his killing spree he paused, waiting for the wolves to find him.

There was no sign of the girl's heartbeat in the immediate vicinity but if he listened further out, there she was, with a few wolves from the sound of it. She was here then.

His focus was drawn forward as Billy stepped from the trees, his expression was extremely wary, "You kidnapped her daughter." The first words from his mouth, it made sense that they'd heard from the other pack.

"Where's the girl?"

Wariness crossed the shifter's expression, for good reason. "Why does it matter, Collin?"

"I can't say I'm sorry for this but if you don't bring her out in the next thirty seconds I am going to slaughter your entire pack. After that I recommend waking up the human mentalities of most of your pack because Mary is coming for her. If you want to live through the day you will cooperate with both her and me."

His grandfather stared at him, stunned. Mary was either really close or would be here soon. There wasn't time for this.

"Thirty." He began counting, either Billy would try to kill him or he'd cooperate. The shifter looked conflicted, "twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven." Collin continued counting without a second thought.

"Collin, talk to me. Why-"

"I'm warning you, Billy. Get her. Now."

The shifter swallowed heavily. "Okay." He breathed out, turning his head and nodding towards the trees where Collin could vaguely hear a wolf pacing in place. There was a brief pause in the movement before it took off in the direction of the girl's heartbeat.

"Tell me what happened, Collin."

"I explained Old Souls to you before. Mary is worried she is Ak again. Which isn't supposed to be possible. Dol, your daughter, once she died. That was supposed to be it."

At first Billy didn't speak, a certain sadness manifesting in his expression. "I wasn't Dol's father. Charlie Swan was her father. I may have knocked her mother up but the Swans and her mother raised her. Not me." A long drawn out pause, "I know what you all think of me. Most of it I've earned. I abandoned your aunt and grandmother. I shouldn't have done it but I did. I am the reason your grandmother is dead." Another pause, Collin didn't comment on his words because it was all true. "I'm not stupid, Collin. Mary is going to kill us, there's nothing we can do to stop her. I want to die knowing that I said it though, if I could take it back…I would never have slept with Ellen. Before you get pissed at me, if your aunt had never been born, your mother wouldn't have gone through the Hellish childhood she did. I ruined your mother's life by making a terrible mistake. If Dol hadn't been born, things would've happened differently. She may have never found her soul sister but she would've lived a semi normal life. A life she deserved."

What Billy didn't realize was, if his mother hadn't gone through all she had with his aunt, Mary wouldn't have killed Ak. Ak would've won. She would've wiped out humanity. Ended it all. His regret didn't make things better, in fact, it made it worse. He wasn't apologizing for the benefit of anyone other than himself. Honestly, there was a strong temptation to say screw it and just kill Billy, snap his neck and be done with it. No. He couldn't do that now. Brady deserved that kill. This was the man that was responsible for the death of his grandmother.

Collin didn't speak a word, instead letting his gaze wander to the tree line as the Old Soul came tearing out of the trees to tackle him to the ground, growling and biting at him as she ran on her hands and feet.

Rather than dealing with the current issue at hand he allowed her to tackle him, wrapping his arms around her, she made a sound that was purely animalistic, a scream that hurt his ears. She fought and struggled against him. This wouldn't work. He could carry her like this but she was like a siren. A constant beacon to their location if her scent and heartbeat wasn't a lethal enough giveaway. There was one place he could take her. Carlisle had spent the end of his life perfecting a location vampires couldn't track into. At least not easily. It wouldn't take Mary long to figure it out but it would give him time. That was it. That was what he needed. Time.

But the shouting.

"Collin, let her down." Billy's tone was wary, "Before you snap at me. If you put her down, she'll calm down. You can get her to cooperate. You just have to know how."

Reluctantly, Collin set the girl down and immediately she sprang away from him, running behind Billy and growling at Collin from behind the older man, poking her head around his legs in a way that reminded Collin of when he would hide behind his mother when he was human.

Two wolves stepped out of the trees, a male one laying down next to the girl and Billy, growling lowly at Collin. The other, who was smaller and clearly female, stepped behind his grandfather. Collin couldn't see exactly what happened but the girl made a sort of wailing sound in response as Billy stepped aside, the wolf carefully pushing the girl towards him. The Old Soul fell back on her butt and looked between the female wolf and him rapidly before making sound like a whimper towards the wolf again. There was wordless communication between the wolf and girl before the girl crawled over to Collin, glancing back once at the female wolf before standing up carefully.

This was the first time he'd _looked._ The first time he'd truly looked at her and seen past those everchanging eyes. The girl was small, definitely around ten, around his age physically. Scars from the claw and bitemarks covered most every inch of her skin, something was familiar about her. Features he couldn't quite place from his memories…well technically someone else's memories.

The face, the eye shape…It was so familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. Who was she? Who had she been? Even if she shared physical aspects to someone they knew, that didn't mean that was who they were. Mary had briefly explained that incarnations of her sister would usually be sentimental, people that meant a lot to the most recent incarnation or objects that were important. It wasn't a completely consisted concept as Mary knew very well that most of her original incarnations had held almost complete similarities of her original form. Though she wasn't a hundred percent positive, the theory of Dol's appearance had to do with the previous incarnation being held captive by Kachiri and driven insane. Dol's appearance probably had something to do with either a hallucination or an object like a doll or toy. They weren't certain. Unless Collin somehow mistakenly fell into the other incarnation's memories it simply wasn't possible for them to know. Unless they found one of the vampires that had been involved with the imprisonment of the other incarnation. It had never seemed important to them though, what was done was done. Dol and Ak were gone for good. Now Collin really wanted to know exactly what triggered Old Souls features so he could look for what could have triggered this girl's. The only thing they knew for certain was it had to be something revolving around the girl's old life whether it be a person or something else. Hell, she could've pulled aspects from a TV show for all he knew.

He was getting off track though, awkwardly he picked up the girl, cradling her in his arms with ease though she was almost the same size as him. She made a sound that resembled a whimper but didn't fight him this time. "Billy, we all hate you. With every ounce of our beings. We hate you and everything you represent. If Mary or Brady don't kill you. I will. I promise you this because it's the justice my grandmother and mother deserve." Billy didn't respond to his grandson's words. Nothing else was said as Collin turned and took off, heading south.

To pass the time normally Collin would've sank into someone's memories but this time around he couldn't because he couldn't risk dropping the girl if he was shocked out of them. In the nearest city he got to he stole a car –which by the way was extremely difficult to drive considering he was ten- and drove around fifty miles in it before dropping a brick on the gas pedal and sending it on its way. The Old Soul had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car but he'd been forced to wake her up to carry her again. If she was as feral as he'd assumed she hadn't been showing it. For the most part she'd been completely cooperative with him. At least since they'd left. Not something he was complaining about but it was something he was curious about.

There were so many questions without answers, Collin wasn't identical to his aunt in wanting to know anything he could about everything but he also didn't like the lack of information he had now. Knowing what an Old Soul was left a massive puzzle piece out of a bigger picture. It was driving him up the walls, well the metaphorical walls, at the current time they were standing on the shore of a beach. This part would be difficult. The place they were going; it couldn't be accessed by normal means. That had been Carlisle's purpose. Carlisle had used to take a helicopter there because scent trails couldn't get left for vampires to track if they went by flight. In all of Collin's past trips to the location he had just swam. Glancing at the sleeping girl in his arms he knew he wouldn't be able to do it like that. If he hadn't been a kid, he might've been able to but with the two of them basically the same size it simply wasn't possible.

They were so close. All he needed to do was cut the trail off. Possibly, a boat might work. It would leave a dead clue to what had happened but it would give them time. That was what he needed. Time. There was a dock close by so he bolted towards it, well aware he would be leaving an open trail to where he headed.

.-~**~-.

The boat ride was long and draining for Collin and he was getting restless, they'd settled into the area beneath the deck which, hopefully, would cut their trail short. In the past Collin hadn't tried to hide from Mary but she had told him of ways some vampires had cut their trail from her. It never lasted, she was simply too strong. If he knew how to drive a boat he'd probably just jump the man driving this one before they got to the island. The lack of questions asked when Collin showed up with a naked ten-year-old and he himself being only ten made Collin uncomfortable. If he'd been human this man would've been basically kidnapping the two. He would kill the man when they arrived. Assuming he didn't do it before then because every time he looked at the girl curled up on the floor a few feet from him his instincts told him to kill her.

Her heartbeat infiltrated his senses, drew him in. Never once did he regret his killing spree more than he currently did. Overdoing his feedings had given him a constant need to kill, while it hadn't bothered him much in his frantic search for Mary it was started to front and center his mind again, blood, gore, kill.

"So…girl…I'm going to call you…Holly, yeah, Holly. So…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably as he talked to the girl, her eyes opened and she lifted her head, tilting it slightly as he spoke to her. "I know…I know you've lived with the wolves for a while…eight years…but there has to be some humanity left…I mean…" He rambled on, feeling like a fool, this girl hadn't lived with humans since she was two, that was assuming she was two when she was living with humans before the wolves found her. "I mean, they aren't regular wolves. They're shapeshifters. They had to have bled out some sort of humanity in you. I feel like an idiot talking to you, please, give me some sort of sign you understand a word coming out of my mouth."

After a moment, the girl pushed up and crawled over to him, laying her head in his lap as she laid on her back, staring up at him with big gray eyes. Collin wasn't certain but the reaction had to have been a, "yes, I understand you."

"Can I keep talking?" When the girl didn't move he continued talking, trying hard not to think about the position she was in, how it exposed that blood vessel in her throat so perfectly, how if he leaned down he could strike without her realizing what was happening. No. He couldn't. She was an Old Soul. She was someone they knew. She had to be. He couldn't kill her. "When I saw you out there you were probably the most confusing creature I'd ever laid my eyes on. I mean, God, there are only two of your kind in existence. At least in theory. If you were my aunt…" He swallowed heavily, not wanting to think about what it would mean if this girl had been Dol. Because if he went to that island and he woke up Dol, it would mean Mary was right. "It doesn't matter. You can't be her; the eternity cycle has been broken. You're someone else. But maybe I should go ahead and check. I will have to soon." Those eyes never left his face, even when he looked across the room to stare at the wood walls of the boat he could feel the eternal eyes boring holes into him. The eyes of someone older, the eyes that belonged to someone ancient. "I'm going to, I'm going to try." He finally said after what felt like hours, he looked down at the young girl, laying a hand under her back and gently pushing her into a sitting position. "Turn around, Holly. Alright?" Hesitantly, the young girl did as told, her eyes yet again meeting his. It was almost like she was staring directly into his soul, if he had one. It made him uncomfortable to say the least but he allowed it. "Okay, Holly. I'm going to try to wake up another aspect of you. If it's you. I need you to not fight it if it happens, alright?" The girl didn't speak, watching him silently, those eyes. The eyes burnt into him, made him question himself, made him unsure if he wanted the answer to that question. "Dol." He breathed out, too quiet, the girl didn't react to the name. "Dol." He said it louder, much louder, no response. Maybe that was a good thing. "Dol! I need you to wake up! Aunt Dol!" Nothing, no reaction. That didn't exactly mean it wasn't her. Swallowing heavily he went for a different approach, "Ak." He spoke Mary's sister's name carefully, "Ak, it is time to wake up! Your sister is looking for you! She wants your head! You broke the rules!" The girl didn't react to his yelling, nothing. That was good. It meant he was right. This wasn't Dol.

Both their heads jerked towards the door when the middle aged man driving the boat opened it. Light flooded the small area, immediately the girl started growling at him in that way only she could. Collin rose to his feet as the man made his way down the steps, moving in front of the girl.

"You two alright, down here?" The man asked, looking all too disappointed at the way Collin blocked his sight. _Sicko_. The word rang through Collin's head by instinct. After all, Collin knew exactly how this man was reacting, he could smell it. Every instinct told him to rip this man's heart out of his chest but he held back, knowing they needed him still. Or did they?

"Have you made it to where I asked?" Collin asked, trying to make himself sound more mature, because he was, this man would've never guessed he was talking to someone who had been alive for more than twenty years.

"Of course. Now can I ask what someone your age is doing all alone on a strange man's boat with someone else just as little as you?" The man attempted to come off as a sweet person but there was a predatory undertone to his voice. Collin had to stop himself from physically shuddering.

"Getting dinner." Collin said with as much hostility he could muster, no, he wouldn't play nice with this man. He wouldn't even give himself the satisfaction of playing an innocent child. This man deserved to see what was coming after him. Allowing the glow of his eyes to seep through took no effort, when they did the man standing in front of him froze up, staring at the young boy with fear. Maybe he wasn't completely stupid. The man turned and bolted up the stairs, Collin wasted no time in going after him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to turn.

The rest of what happened was insignificant, at least it was to the Old Soul behind him. Collin wasn't even really aware of what happened, it wasn't a quick death for the man. That was the important thing. He suffered before he died.

Covered in blood and gore, Collin picked up the young girl who had fallen asleep on the floor despite the sounds of flesh being ripped from bone and blood curdling screams. Without a word he carried her onto the deck and was happy to see the man had been true to his words, they had stopped at the large island that Carlisle had spent a good chunk of time at. He was well aware that the island had several amenities to it, however he'd never really looked. Carefully he launched himself from the boat, landing on the dock and looking at the beautiful island, there was a clear carved path in between the groups of trees that began at the shoreline. It was clear someone had been here, keeping the grounds, otherwise the path would've been grown over. If he scented the air there was the faint scent of a human, he couldn't place whether they were still here or they'd left recently but the scent was there. Hopefully, the presence of humans meant that there'd at least be a bit of food. While he didn't need to eat, Holly would have to.

At first the Old Soul allowed him to carry her, it was kind of comforting, it took no effort for him to hold her and she seemed content in his arms. However, it was clear when she wanted free from his hold because she started squirming, throwing looks between him and the ground. Reluctantly, Collin set her down and she took off down the path on all fours. He would need to get her clothes before they went back into civilization, he really would. The nudity thing made him uncomfortable for one solid reason, her age. The man on the boat had been the perfect example of why she needed clothing. Not for his benefit but for her. Yes, he had no problem killing any sick bastard they came across but even he knew there was a line on killing. Sooner or later, Mary _would_ confront him about that.

Mary.

The whole reason he was following the young girl up to the large house situated at the center of the island, it was covered with mostly glass walls, at least three floors visible from the front, where there was wall it was a beautiful white. The furniture inside was a darker color, a cream color. He didn't pay much attention to that, the human's scent was stronger up here. Except…it wasn't a human, no, there were two scents here. The human's scent hadn't belonged to a human. It had been a shifter. If he'd been more focused, he would've known that right off the bat. It had been years since Collin had caught these scents. These two were probably the only people on the planet Collin trusted not to immediately rat him out to Mary.

Nahuel and Seth. The two had been like uncles to Daula at one point apparently, about a year after he was born Nahuel had actually gotten down on his knees and begged Mary to make it so he could be turned him back into a vampire, apparently his overabundance of memories was having a negative effect on his mentality. She'd complied and after that he'd gotten bitten and they'd drifted away from the family, if it wasn't for now Collin would've honestly thought they were dead. A black hair brown eyed man, Nahuel, appeared in the doorway, the second he spotted the two approaching a massive grin appeared on his face as he flung open the door and strode forward towards them.

Of course Holly didn't take that very well, she went wolf mode and tore across the ground at him, growling her growl and going for his throat. Nahuel made a startled sound and caught the girl mid lunge, holding her out in front of him and raising an eyebrow in Collin's direction as she began her yowling.

"Holly!" He called as he ran up to his uncle and the young girl.

"I have to admit, Collin. While you really need a girlfriend, feral Old Souls was not what I had in mind." Nahuel smiled knowingly at him before turning his focus to the young girl, "Holly, is it? Calm down. Now." The girl made a small yowling sound before slumping in his arms.

"How did-"

Nahuel interrupted him before he could finish, setting the girl down and motioning towards the still open door which she made a beeline through. "Billy sent out an APB or whatever to all the shifters to be on the lookout for you and the feral child. Then we got a phonecall from Mary about an hour ago telling us that the second you showed up with her to kill her or to call her." Collin swallowed unnecessarily, suddenly extremely wary. "Oh, don't worry, kid. We aren't loyal to Mary. We're only loyal to Bella and her kin. Always have been and always will be. Of course you'll have to understand that we won't step in the crossfires if she shows up here."

Nodding slowly, Collin understood what he meant, though he felt the need to clarify, "You mean when she shows up here. She isn't stupid. When I vanish off the map she'll put two and two together."

"I guess we need to wake up your friend before Mer shows up."

There weren't that many people that knew about waking up Old Souls. Much less what an Old Soul was, so the remark threw him off. "How do you know about that?" Collin asked as Nahuel stepped forward, pulling the young vampire into his arms for a hug. Collin didn't fight it, in fact he welcomed it, though he had never really known Nahuel he'd seen his mother's memories of the man. From those memories he'd learned that Nahuel had no care for personal boundaries or who you were or what you'd done.

"You're joking, right?" Nahuel responded with a laugh. "I was your mom's closest friend, Collin. You of all people have surely seen that. I probably know more about her than anyone else. Except you. I was the only other person on the planet she knew that went through the burden of losing and regaining their memories after being devamped. She could talk to me about it all and I would listen and be able to relate."

Honestly, Collin hadn't known that. Whenever he had dived into his mother's memories he'd gone into the time before her and his father had gotten together. It was easier than risk seeing something he couldn't unsee. It was one thing to stumble onto a memory of his mom sleeping with Edward or Rosalie or one of the vampires in Volterra, which by the way was still extremely disturbing, but there was another thing to see his mom and dad. No thanks.

"Come inside and say hi to your other uncle while we try to piece together who your little girlfriend is." Nahuel continued, setting the young boy down.

"She isn't-" It clicked what Nahuel was implying, which was far from the case, in fact, in Collin's mind, it was just wrong to imply that. Holly was ten, that was her real age. He wasn't his physical age.

"Apparently you don't share your mom's sense of humor. I'm screwing with you, kid. Relax. I know you aren't your physical age. I was there the day you were born." Nahuel gave his shoulder a squeeze before turning and heading into the large house. With a bit of reluctance Collin followed the old vampire in. "Seth! Come say hi to your nephew and leave the poor girl to do her thing!"

A couple minutes after that was said another man rounded a corner with Holly clinging to his back with her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. "Nahuel, I will slap you." Seth complained before offering Collin a smile. It was obvious Seth used the shifter's trick for immortality. He was about the same age as Nahuel, physically in his early thirties, which meant he continued to shift to keep himself the age of his vampire. "I'm sorry to hear about your mom," was the second thing that left his mouth, followed by, "I have half a mind to feed you right on over to Mary. Mass murder is _not_ okay. I don't care who died, I don't care if Mary is a little brat, you had _no_ right." Seth's tone was full of a tone that Bella had used on Collin more than once, if he could've cried he might've just because it had been a long time since someone had lectured him for acting up. "Holly!" He growled out, looking over as the girl bit into his shoulder, growling softly.

Nahuel chuckled as Holly let go, looking guilty as she laid her head back on his shoulder. "Any luck with communicating with our little friend?"

"Oh, she can communicate." Seth stated with annoyance, "Doesn't mean she will. I think whatever mentality she has locked up in there with her is guiding her behavior for the most part. Except the animal aspects. Now we're going to put her in some clothes then she's going to sleep in a proper bed."

"I thought-"

"She's already been fed, Collin. We knew she was coming." Seth turned on his heels and made his way down a hallway.

"He sounds…" Collin wasn't sure how to respond.

"Like a cranky wife? Yeah, he does that." Nahuel offered an apologetic glance as he made his way through a door, Collin following closely. There was a large white couch in the room with a glass coffee table in the middle, they could see out the window from the room, Nahuel slumped into the couch, "He wants a kid. We've been arguing about it for the past week or two. It's not that I don't want kids, that isn't the case. It's just…I don't want to raise a kid to watch him or her grow old and die. There's nothing worse about being immortal than that prospect." Collin swallowed heavily, completely understanding where Nahuel was coming from with that, hesitantly he took the seat next to the other vampire as he continued, "I mean, I've had a kid before. My original mate and I took an abandoned human in. We raised her. It was the greatest feeling in the world, being a parent, until she grew older than us. We watched her grow old and die. She didn't want immortality so we were forced to watch her die. I want to give Seth this but…I don't want him to hurt when he or she gets older."

Honestly, Collin didn't know how to respond so instead he stayed silent, after probably five minutes Nahuel rose and left him alone there. Staring off into the trees he decided it wouldn't be a bad time to seek out someone's memories, anyone's memories. Closing his eyes, he allowed his ability to dive into whatever memory it chose.


	7. Chapter 7

To say Mary was angry wasn't the right word. Sure she was irritated; it was her right to be. That girl had to be Ak. Her sister. Her sister was alive again. Something about that fact made it all hurt so much worse.

Ak.

Every ounce of her longed for it to be her, she desperately wanted it to be _her_. It _needed_ to be her. Having Bur for the short time she did was just that. A short time. No one would ever replace Ak though. They couldn't.

 _Mer._ The way Bur's voice rang through her skull made her heart ache. The name was enough; no words were needed. The way he said her name was comfort. Her brother, Bur, she would lose him again. Brady was never the same person Bur had been. Pulling herself from her thoughts and taking an unnecessary breath, she focused on her surroundings. Brady's house. Her, Ayla, and Bur had settled into the den with Lila and Daula. Lila hadn't asked for Brady back yet, something Mary was grateful for.

"How about Nahuel?" The first suggestion made by anyone that actually made sense. Daula was a smart girl. That island. The isolated island. The one place she wouldn't have been able to track him to. Would he be stupid enough to go there? Knowing she'd look for him there?

Without much thought she held out her hand. "Give me your phone." Images flashed across her vision, Brady's memories of Dol. Bur pulling them and showing who Ak could be. _Bur, I'm sorry. I can't._ It was obvious what he was asking her. She couldn't risk that though. Ak was a risk to everything. She loved her sister with every ounce of her being. Killing her for the second time had torn a part of her out that could never be repaired.

She wasn't really aware when someone set a phone in her hand, instead she just absently tapped a number in and pressed the green call button.

_What if he's right. What if it's not mom. Think about it, Mer. Please._

"Nahuel's age doesn't matter when you're a vampire dating service, how may I help you?"

Nahuel began laughing on the other line, Seth's voice coming from the background, "I swear if that is my nephew again, I will lynch you!"

"Relax, sweet cake. Just Dal."

"Actually it's not."

Mary could almost feel the mood change over the phoneline. "I'm still killing if that's what you're worried about." His tone was wary, for obvious reasons. The agreement to him becoming a vampire again had been that he had to continue killing, as was the rules for all the vampires.

"I'm not calling about that. If that was the issue, I'd be coming to see you face to face. Collin is about to show up to your little hideout.

"Bella's kid? About time some of the family comes to visit." His tone was coming off as too lighthearted. Clearly he was still wary, trying to ease the tension.

"He won't be alone. He'll have a girl with him. This girl. You need to kill her or call me immediately when they get there."

"Wait, what girl? Why does she have to die?"

"An Old Soul. Nahuel, listen very carefully to me. That girl is a danger to everyone. There are only two Old Souls in existence. Brady is the only one left. If you won't kill her. You _have_ to call me." There was a brief silence on the other line, if she listened closely she could hear the breathing of the both of them. Seth was listening to the conversation. Honestly, she didn't care.

"Okay." Nahuel's voice came over the line, sounding defeated. "If they show up I'll call you or kill the girl."

Mary didn't bother with a goodbye, instead hanging up and holding the phone out for Daula to take. "Lila and Dal. I need the two of you to keep this girl here. Do _not_ let her shift. Keep her on the SH. Keep the information that she is here a secret. I mean it."

"No."

Mary blinked, glaring at Lila. "No, what?" She hissed at the other girl, knowing exactly what she was protesting.

"We aren't holding the kid hostage. Are you fucking insane, Mary?" Mary stood, stepping across the space between them and grabbing the female shifter's arm.

 _Mer._ Bur's voice rang through her skull as her brother grabbed onto her arm. _"Don't."_ Brady spoke at the same time Bur's voice rang through her skull. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let go of Lila.

"You know I wouldn't hurt her Brady. You know that." The hand moved from her arm to her shoulder as he pulled her around so she was facing him.

"Let the girl go, Mary. We'll go deal with my mother. Let the girl go. She didn't do anything wrong."

Mary swallowed heavily, her gaze wandering up to meet his eyes, "Brady, I'm doing this to protect you. The both of you."

" _We know you are_. But you have to let her go. You're crossing a line. _Our line._ " Bur's voice rang through her skull as Brady spoke some words, the two boys, her two boys, Bur so close to the surface she could hear him alongside some of Brady's words. " _Let the girl go_. Then we can deal with _my mother._ "

Mary lifted her arm, grabbing her brother's arm. "Okay." She breathed out, slumping her head down.

"Dal, take the girl out. Fly her back to Asia." Mary stepped to the side, staring at Bella's oldest daughter as she rose to her feet, offering Ayla her hand.

"No." The young shifter said weakly. "I'll stay. I don't want to be there when what my mom has done gets her killed. Don't take me back." The girl stared straight at Mary with pleading eyes.

"What has your mother done, little angel?" Mary asked, suddenly extremely nervous.

"I can't tell. I'm sorry. I can't. My mom said I can't."

"Alphas and their orders." Mary said absently, "Okay. If you want to stay then I guess you'll stay. Bur…um…Brady, boys, I know for a fact that Nahuel isn't going to do what I said. I figure if it's Ak she'll use Collin's faith as a shield. If they force her to wake up then she'll probably hand the reins over to Dol."

"Again, Mary. Are we _positive_ it's your sister." Mary threw a hostile glare in Lila's direction at her words.

It had to be Ak. It had to be. There was no one else it could be. That ancient energy that created her and her sister, the same energy that Ak had passed onto Bur. It couldn't be anyone else. It wasn't possible. "It has to be her." She managed to bury the pain from her voice but something told her that her expression gave away her true feelings. This was something she didn't want to do again. Killing Ak had been accidental the first time. Something she would never forgive herself for. The second time had torn her apart, sure she'd hidden it but it had killed part of her. It was the right thing to do. The right thing wasn't always the easy thing though. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if her sister had been right about humanity.

"If you kill her, Collin won't forgive you. You know that, right, Mary?" Rather than answer Daula's question she made her way towards the exit.

"Brady, we're going to kill your grandfather." For a brief moment Mary seriously considered bringing the young shapeshifter but something stopped her. "Goodbye, little angel." She said quietly as Brady rushed to follow her out.

**.-~**~-.**

Collin had to blink several times as the memory sucked him in. His gaze wandered around his new surroundings. Another unfamiliar memory. Somewhere he had never been before. Except he had. Never in this context but he'd been here. His heart sank at the sight in front of him.

Never had he wanted to look away from something more than he did now. Every ounce of his being screamed at him, told him to look away, he didn't want to see this. He couldn't stop looking though.

They were in a room, a room similar to the room that Bella had been tortured in. Kachiri stood at the top of a table with a rusty knife in her hand. There was a jaguar strapped down to the table on her side, she was yowling and hissing at the vampire in front of her.

Everything in him screamed to _go_. To just _leave._ This was terrible. Everything he'd seen was nothing compared to the pure fear in Leah's eyes. Nothing. He'd seen his mother tortured by his aunt under the command of Kachiri but they'd had to be careful with Bella. She'd been human. Leah didn't have that privilege. Her essence made her durable, so much more durable. It also meant she didn't have to worry about the same things she did with Bella.

"I told you, Leah. All you have to do is eat. All you have to do is cooperate." Kachiri's voice was like ice, she tsked as she ran the rusty blade down Leah's stomach earning a yowl from the jaguar. Collin couldn't help himself as he stepped forward, resting a hand just above Leah's face.

"I'm sorry, Leah. I'm so sorry." He whispered the words, soothing, comforting, and it was clear she heard him and saw him. Her gaze flicked to him for a brief moment, tears falling down her face.

_Don't. Don't watch this. Please, Collin. Leave. Go._

Collin didn't budge, he wouldn't leave her. He didn't know her but he knew he couldn't leave her. Not to suffer through this alone. Kachiri stepped through his form and pressed the blade into her jaw.

"You know, Leah. You are hardly worth it. I could send you back to daddy dearest." A brief flash of hope flicked into Leah's eyes. Collin knew better. Kachiri was never going to give her up. Zafrina would kill her. Nothing could change it. "Only joking, my little pet. You belong to me now. You're mine. Until the day you die, you belong to me."

"Leah. Leah, listen to me." He couldn't help it, if she would die, she needed to know to trust Bella and Dol. "When they show up. Two new people. Isabella and her sister. They might already be here. Isabella and Dol. You need to show them. They will try to help you. I promise, Leah. Things will get better. You won't suffer for nothing." Collin would've been crying if he could, Leah's eyes flicked to him again.

 _I'll remember. Please, Collin. Go._ He tried to freeze the scene again like he'd done before but he couldn't. _Go._ Then Kachiri plunged the blade into Leah's stomach again and she was yowling in agony.

Collin jerked up as he was yanked out of her memory, if he'd had a heartbeat it would've been pounding in his ears and tears would've been falling down his face.

"Collin." He had to blink several times, taking in his surroundings. "Were you asleep?" Nahuel was standing a few feet in front of him, looking extremely concerned.

"I…no, I wasn't asleep. I don't sleep. I mean, vampires don't sleep."

"I was joking. What happened?"

Collin cleared his throat, staring down at the floor. "Memories. I was reliving a bad memory of someone." Not completely a lie. _Leah._ What was it about that girl? Why was it her memories seemed to cling to him so desperately, like a lifeline. He wanted to stay there with her, he wanted to dive back into the memory and comfort her. _"I would've Imprinted on you."_ Her words rang through his skull painfully. She was supposed to imprint on him. At least that's what she'd told him.

"Who was it?" Nahuel had settled on the floor in front of him with his legs crossed and his elbows on his knees with his head on his palms.

"You didn't know her. Her name was Leah." He swallowed heavily, staring at the floor.

"Leah? Your mom told me about her…I'm sorry, Collin. That must suck." He reached forward, resting one of his hands on the younger vampire's foot. "If it's worth anything, you can talk to me about it. I can listen."

Collin stared at Nahuel's hand and before he realized what he was doing he was spilling everything, the changes in his memories, all of the memories he'd experienced, everything. It was suddenly very clear to him why it was so easy to talk to Nahuel, he'd listen. He'd make the occasional joke to lighten the mood of something increasingly depressing. Even reliving his mother's memories he'd never understood the closeness between them. It had always been chalked up in his mind as a relatability between them but now he realized it was more. Nahuel had loved a vampire that had played a god, he'd been in mythology, he was _old_. Something about that made it _so easy._ Rather than talking to someone who would never understand…it was like talking to someone that would understand everything. Even if he didn't.

The words flowed without thought and before he knew it he'd told him about every memory he'd experienced that had bothered him, the entire thing about Leah, he'd even mentioned the minor jealousy he had with the closeness between Bur and Mary. When he finally refocused on his surroundings the night had gone and there was the faint sound of someone in the kitchen cooking.

"Collin, you're a strong boy. You are extremely strong. Your mom broke when she experienced that crap, I know she wasn't the same person after it all happened. I cracked under the strain of all my memories. I still sometimes have to remember who I am now. The fact that you hold yourself together is amazing, Collin. Maybe you were built for it or something, I honestly don't know. But you're an amazing kid." If it had been anyone else, he would've snapped at them for calling him a kid. Nahuel was old though. Old enough to get away with it.

"Thank you for listening." Collin muttered quietly.

"Don't mention it. Now let's go watch your girlfriend and Seth eat." Nahuel winked, and, just like that, the tension left the air and the two vampires were making their ways into the kitchen where Holly was sitting on the floor, pouting, next to the table with her back against it while Seth cooked something that Collin vaguely recognized as the scent of bacon. For the first time since he'd met her Holly was wearing clothes, wearing a shirt that no doubt belonged to Nahuel. It was white and it was clear she was extremely uncomfortable in it but she wasn't trying to get it off.

"Hey, Collin." Seth muttered quietly as he cooked, sounding a whole lot less stressed out than he had the previous night.

"Hey, Uncle Seth." Because that was who Seth was. His uncle. The pack bond made that a fact, something that required no thought.

"I really am sorry about your mom. She was an amazing woman." Seth sounded so sad, Bella had been their final tie to their original alpha and she was gone. Collin couldn't imagine that. "Now sit your butts down." He ordered and without a thought both vampires settled into chairs. "Collin, you know we love your family with every ounce of our being. I'd have died for your mom at one point, Hell, if it wasn't for Nahuel I might have done it all those years ago." He turned around so his back was to the stove and gave Collin one of the most scolding looks he'd ever received. "Which is why I'm so pissed at you for how you reacted to your mother's death. Killing children similar to her, Collin. Fine. I get it. Lashing out at your psycho creator. But did you stop to _think_ about what you were doing. Collin, you were murdering _children._ Your mother wouldn't have put up with that shit for ten seconds. She would've put you in your place. So since she isn't here, I'm making sure you get the memo. Don't do that shit anymore, Collin. I mean it."

There it was, someone finally making him feel like crap for what he'd done. Yes, he'd been told he shouldn't have done it but the way Seth had said it had made him feel terrible. What he'd done had been over the line and childish, he would've never said that it wasn't. But thinking of his mom…it hurt so much more.

"No more children." He promised, his voice breaking.

Nahuel threw his arm over the younger vampire's shoulder and sighed softly. "So, Seth. Any luck waking up wild child?"

"She isn't going to wake up. Whoever is in there with her, they're clearly guiding her. This isn't the girl who Billy showed us…" Seth trailed off. "By the way, Collin. That pack, it's dead. They're all dead."

There was the sound of a whimper and they all looked down to see Holly staring up at them with brown eyes. Brown eyes. Not the eternal eyes but brown eyes. At least for a brief moment, then they were gone and the ever-changing eyes of an old soul were there again. Ak had had brown eyes. Not the same brown as those but they'd been brown. Collin wasn't certain how to feel about that.

"Who killed them?" The young vampire asked weakly as Holly moved her gaze to the floor, playing absently with her toes.

"It was Brady and Mary." Deep down, Collin hoped it had been Brady. Billy had been the reason for the death of their grandmother. Of most of their family. If anyone deserved to kill Billy it was Brady.

"Are you sure it was Brady?"

"It was Brady." Seth said with no doubt in his voice as he glanced at the young girl before returning to cooking. "The eyes. They were Brady's eyes. Not Bur's."

Collin leaned his head forward and shut his eyes, basking in the fact that his cousin had at least gotten his revenge.

"She knows, doesn't she?" Nahuel's voice broke a brief silence that followed those words. Not silence for the dead, they wouldn't lose sleep over the death of Billy. Maybe over Holly's adoptive wolf mother but not Billy. Their grandfather deserved that death.

"You're joking, right? Of course she knows. She's got Brady though and I'm sure he's placating. Unlike him, Collin, she would kill you if she felt it necessary." Collin couldn't help the flinch that passed through him at that painful truth. Except, Collin was completely capable of killing Mary if necessary.

"So, what? They go out, kill a couple hundred humans to blow off steam?" Nahuel tried to make his tone light hearted and joking but it was obvious that he was bothered by the fact.

"No." Collin said with conviction. "Bur and Brady wouldn't let her do that. Not with the balance in place. Especially with the mindless killing I've been doing. No, I imagine he'll drag her to a park. Make her absorb the sights of the good things left. Maybe play with her on a playground."

His gaze wandered to Holly as she climbed into the seat next to them, her gaze sticking to the table as Seth set a plate of bacon in front of her and took a seat, digging into his own food.

No one said anything for a few minutes before, finally, Holly lifted her gaze from the food, glancing around nervously with brown eyes again. "I can't tell you who I am, Collin." She said softly, her voice cracking slightly as though she might cry, "I can't. I'm sorry. I can't tell anyone until the time is right." Her gaze wandered back to the table. "Without revealing _who_ I am, is there a single way to prove to this…Mary that I'm not…this other old soul…um…Ak?"

Collin couldn't stop staring at the girl to really register what had happened. Something about her was so damn familiar but he couldn't place it.

"Stop staring, Collin." The girl snapped, causing him to blink. "Who exactly is this Mary person?"

So whoever she was didn't know Mary, that was good to know.

 _Unless she's playing dumb_. Another part of his mind taunted him.

No. This wasn't Ak. It wasn't her. "Mary is the original vampire, the first vampire." Collin said absently, "Ak is one of two Old Souls."

"What's wrong with an Old Soul?" Not-Holly asked, sounding confused.

"Nothing. Not normally. The problem with Ak…Ak is…was…she had a God-complex. Believed that she needed to wipe out all of humanity."

"I can understand why Mary wants to kill me then." The other girl drummed her fingers on the table. "I'll prove to her I'm not her sis-"

Collin caught that slip the same second Not-Holly snapped her mouth shut, "We didn't mention that they were sisters."

Not-Holly ran her hand through her hair, pulling at it and giving Collin a look that held a million different things, none that he could place. "I know. Dammit, I know." Her gaze wandered away from the table then to Nahuel.

"Nahuel, I need to talk to you." Not-Holly jumped out of her seat, "Collin, you _cannot_ listen to what I say to him. I mean it."

Collin stared at her like she was insane, "Why should I listen to a word you say?"

She shut her eyes, clenching her teeth for a moment before sighing and opening her eyes again, "You shouldn't. In fact, I know you won't. Trust Nahuel though. Trust that he will say to you anything you need to know. Please, Collin. Please." Something deep in him wanted to trust this girl, everything in him screamed at him to do it. Trust her. Listen to her. There was another less prominent part of him reminding him that if it was Ak, she would be doing everything she could to manipulate them into believing her. Ak was smart, and old.

"Okay." Collin breathed out, glancing between Not-Holly and Nahuel, "I'll trust him." That was a lie, Collin planned on listening in on them. With clear reluctance, Nahuel followed the Old Soul out of the room.

"Collin." Reluctantly he turned his focus to Seth. "Don't eavesdrop. I know you want to but she's being honest. If it's important Nahuel will tell us."

"I want to know _why_ she knows that. What if she is Ak? What if she's just pulling our chains or whatever the saying is?"

"I don't think she is. I never met Ak but I did see Dol under her influence. Ak drew out the darker sides of whoever was in control, pushed them to do things they never would've done. It broke them apart. Holly isn't broken, she's actually stable for the first time in her life. This isn't Ak."

Collin didn't respond to that, instead he slumped his head down and listened out until he caught the voices of Collin and Not-Holly.

"-it, Nahuel. It's important that no one knows. I know you believe me."

"And here I thought things couldn't get any nuttier."

"Nahuel."

"Yes, I believe you. I get _why_ you can't tell him. But, do you seriously think that Mary is going to believe a word of it?"

"Yes. I do." Not-Holly sounded so confident of her words, like there was no doubt there.

After that there was a brief silence between them before Nahuel spoke again, "When will you be able to tell him?"

"I won't. He'll figure it out. I don't know when but he'll have to piece it together on his own. I _can't_ tell him. _You_ can't tell him. _He_ has to be the one to figure it out, Nahuel. No one else can tell him."

Collin didn't know how to feel about that. He couldn't help but wish he'd ignored Seth and begun listening sooner. A low growl escaped him as he pushed out of his seat and made his way out the door and towards where their voices were coming from.

Collin stepped through the door as Nahuel rose to his feet from the bed, muttering under his breath, "Shit."

"Who is she?" Collin growled out, shooting a glare past him at Not-Holly who was fidgeting uncomfortably from her spot on the bed.

"It doesn't matter." Nahuel stated, growling softly, "Collin, it doesn't matter. She isn't Ak."

" _Why_ can't I know? Who are you? My mom? Aunt Rose? Who the fuck are you?" Collin stalked forward, completely ignoring Nahuel until the older vampire grabbed his arm. "Nahuel, you have two seconds to let go before I fucking kill you." The threat was clear in Collin's voice, everyone knew that he was stronger than the average vampire. When Nahuel caught the threat he reluctantly let go of the younger vampire and moved to the side.

"I can't tell you. Collin. Please." Not-Holly backed up until she was at the edge of the bed, tears filling her eyes as her heart pounded. Collin didn't hesitate as he followed her, every vampiric instinct screaming at him to just kill her, kill her and bask in the joy of the kill. He couldn't do that though. He wouldn't.

"If you don't tell me who you are, I won't stand by you when Mary shows up." Not-Holly made a pained sound as she scrambled off the bed. In the back of his mind he could hear Nahuel and Seth behind him, telling him to leave her alone. Neither were making a move to stop him.

Not-Holly slumped her shoulders, dropping her head. "Fine." She breathed out, "I…I'm Renesmee. I mean I was…"

Collin blinked, staring at Not-Holly for several long moments. Renesmee? Was she lying? It didn't look like she was, her heartrate wouldn't give away who she was. Why had she refused to tell him? It didn't make sense…

"My face, I mean, I picked up features from Emmett. When I was first born him and Leah would visit me sometimes…I don't know why I was reborn, I don't know how. All I know is I woke up and I wasn't seeing things anymore. I don't hallucinate. For the first time since I was born, I'm sane." Her gaze wandered to the floor as she spoke.

"Why couldn't you tell me?"

"Old Souls. It's engrained in us not to tell anyone who we were. I'm not supposed to. I don't want you to kill me though. I don't want to die."

"Nahuel?" Collin asked, looking behind him at the older vampire.

"That's what she told me."

His gaze wandered back to Not-Holly, Renesmee. Were those the same eyes he'd seen in the memories of Renesmee? The same brown? He couldn't quite tell, it was possible but…

"Okay." He breathed out, still not completely certain he trusted her. Later he would have to try to find someone's memories of Renesmee. It wouldn't be easy but he needed to confirm it.

"Great. Now that you've pried this out, we need to figure out how to convince Mary of the fact."

"No need." Collin's head jerked to the bed where Mary was now lounged out, watching them with little interest.

"How long-"

"For a while." She cut off Renesmee before she could continue. "Long enough to listen in on all of your wonderful conversations this morning. You aren't my sister. I can _feel_ that. If I'm speaking honestly it bothers me that I don't know." Mary pushed herself up and crawled to the edge of the bed. "Come here, _Renesmee_." Mary said the name like she didn't believe it as she sat down on the edge of the mattress. All Collin could do was watch as the human in their midst did as told, stepping forward until she was inches in front of Mary. "Tell me, how many years your father kept you locked in that dungeon?"

"Fifty years." The other girl answered without hesitation.

"What were the last words you spoke to Bella?"

There was a brief hesitation from Renesmee before she answered. "I…I don't remember."

Collin watched, feeling uneasy as Mary rested a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Who did you hallucinate seeing most of your life?"

The other girl swallowed audibly before answering, "My mother." She whispered, sounding broken. "I saw my mother every day of my life until the day I died."

Mary's gaze lifted from the other girl's to meet Collin's eyes. "I don't think I believe her, Collin. I know you don't. But right now, we have more important things to deal with."

"More important?"

"Brady picked up some interesting information from his grandfather's pack in exchange for their lives. Found out some fascinating things."

"About what?"

"Remember how you ran into Alec on your way to rescue me? I mentioned they don't have Alice's ability on hand. There is no way they could've known you were going to save me. They didn't want you or Brady there to save me. They were trying to make you back off. I already knew they were turning on me. Unfortunately, we need to find out exactly what they're doing."

"We're going to Vegas." Collin said with reluctance. He didn't want to go there. The entire counsel wanted his head on a platter because he had special treatment. They couldn't kill him while Mary was by his side but he still hated going there.

"Sorry, Collin. I will need backup if I'm right about what's happening. I can't die but they can hurt me." Mary pushed off the bed, stepping extremely close to the other girl. "Tell me something. If I were to offer you the gift of immortality, would you accept it?" Collin couldn't believe what he was seeing when Mary leaned forward, whispering the words into the girl's ear, if it wasn't for what he knew about Mary he might've seen the action as intimate, even if the two girls were in the bodies of very young girls they were mentally much older.

The young girl trembled slightly, shaking her head rapidly. "Don't. Mary, please. Don't."

Mary pulled away from the girl so she was leaning against the bed. "I like you, Ness. I don't think you're Renesmee for a second. I like you though. So since you won't reveal your identity, give us an alias to call you."

"Um…Emma?"

"Alright, Emma. You're going to come to Vegas with us. I don't plan on leaving you unattended. Collin, we need to go."

Collin was staring at Mary like she was inane. "What?"

"Vegas. Let's go."

"You aren't pushing for the truth?"

"You're joking right, Collin? Of course I want to know the truth. It'd be out of my nature not to want to know. The fact is there are bigger problems on hand then a single Old Soul. She's human, she isn't my sister, so for now, that's all that matters." When Collin continued staring at her she sighed and looked back at the Old Soul. "After this is over. You _will_ tell me who you are. Got it?"

"I swear." The other girl said, holding up her hand.

"If you don't, I will rip your throat out of your pretty little neck without a second thought." Emma swallowed audibly at that.

"I swear." She whispered.

"Now, let's go." Mary stated as she made her way towards the doorway, Collin wasn't sure how he felt about all of this but there wasn't much he could do to protest Mary's decision so, with reluctance, he trailed after Mary with Emma behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have tried to place the timeframe of this story following Essence but it's been really difficult...

_Somewhere Around 2051…39ish years ago_

 

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!" Collin was jerked out of his sleep at his sister's loud singing and her diving onto his bed. Immediately she dove into throwing the blanket back and tickling him, her younger brother made an undignified screeching sound as he started helplessly giggling under the assault from his sister.

"Dal! Dal, get off!" He squirmed and fought against his sister which only resulted in her continuing her assault.

"Make me, bubba." She taunted her brother, earning a true push from her half vampire brother. Stumbling off the bed the girl laughed and made her way towards the door, "come on, Bubba. Mom said to wake your ass up before Brady shows up."

Collin glared at his sister's spot from his bed. "Butt." He muttered in annoyance.

"You love me, baby bro. Now get dressed." She shut the door behind herself, after Collin had pulled himself out of bed he wandered to his dresser, digging out some clothes for the day.

He didn't see when Mary appeared on the side of his bed so when her voice penetrated the silence in the room he nearly jumped out of his skin, "Hey, Collin."

"Hey!" He yelled, turning to glare at the ancient vampire.

"Sorry, Collin. Didn't mean to scare you." He frowned, his cousin/aunt/complicated-family-bonds had a sad look on her expression and her voice sounded tired, something he didn't know was possible for the ancient vampire.

"What're you doing here?" He asked, walking over to her and allowing it when she took his hand.

"It's your birthday, Collin. Your tenth birthday. Your mom hates the ten year marker. It scares her. Do you know why?"

Collin frowned, thinking back on what he'd been told. Not what he'd had nightmares about but what he'd been told. "Grandma and Grandpa Swan died when she was ten. Is that it?" Mary gave him a knowing look and he slumped his shoulders. "Momma was kidnapped by Aro when she was ten. She's scared it'll happen to us too, right?"

"She is, Collin. She's terrified that it'll happen. Even with me protecting your family she still believes that something will go wrong and she'll lose you."

"That won't happen. No one will take me from her." Collin said confidently.

Mary smiled, taking his hand. "I know. I will do everything it takes to make sure my sister doesn't lose you." Then the contact was gone and Mary was gone. He knew she was there, the sound of his door opening drew his attention towards it as it shut behind the ancient vampire who had hidden herself.

 

.-~**~-.

 

"Edward." Collin stopped outside his mom's bedroom door, unable to stop himself from listening to his mother's whisper.

"I'm a selfish bastard." He muttered quietly.

"It's not selfish." His mother's voice responded, there was a faint sound, the unmistakable sound of a kiss. "We've talked about this."

"You're insane, Isabella."

"Stop calling me that." The sound of the bed creaking filled his senses as someone sat down.

"Fine, Izzy." He muttered softly, the sound of another kiss. Longer this time.

Collin should've left but he was trapped by his confusion. His mom only kissed his dad and sometimes aunt Rose. His mom had told him that kissing was only for people that truly loved each other. As far as he knew Bella and Edward were friends. His parents had told him friends didn't kiss. Why were his mom and Edward kissing then?

"Don't put it past me to say screw it and kill you."

"If you planned to kill me you'd have done it years ago. You aren't a killer. You're just a clinically insane girl."

"Shut the fuck up, Edward and kiss me."

"Not yet. I do have some morals. We're on you and your husband's bed. It's your son's birthday."

His mom's voice was a whine. "I'll get Rose if you don't stop being a baby."

"No you won't." Edward's voice was predatory, "Because right now, you want me. Those broken parts of your mind are screaming at you to pull me down on the bed and have me-"

"Collin." His head jerked around at the sight of his cousin.

"Hi." He said weakly, Brady glanced between his youngest cousin and his aunt's bedroom door, irritation etched into his expression.

A hand was placed on his shoulder as Brady began guiding him down the hall, beating on his aunt's door as he moved. "Aunt Bell! Little ears were listening in on you and Eddy. Get your asses out here now."

There was a very loud sound of something falling and Bella's muttered, "Fuck." as Brady led Collin down the hall and away from his mother's room.

 

.-~**~-.

 

Collin sat on the couch with his mom and dad standing in front of him, looking extremely uncomfortable. None of the rest of his family was in the room, they'd piled into the dining room to let them deal with the fallout of the slipup. Edward had offered to stay present but Bella had forced him to leave.

"So, Collin. This is..." his mom cleared his throat. "As you know me and your dad love each other, a lot. That's why we're married. We love each other."

The two glanced awkwardly between each other as Collin nodded.

"We told you that people only kiss when they love each other..." she shifted uncomfortably and his father wrapped an arm around his waist. "That isn't completely true. Sometimes...adults kiss when they have a strong...attraction for each other. Most people, when they're married, only kiss the one they're married to. Me and your dad have a...different relationship...your dad lets me kiss other people..."

"Like Aunt Rose?"

"Exactly like that."

"But why? Can't you just kiss dad? Why do you need to kiss someone else?"

"It's complicated." She muttered. "For now, all you need to know is that it's okay for us to do."

Though Collin wasn't completely satisfied with her answer he nodded. "Okay."

What Collin learned much later in life about his mother was that his mom slept with Rosalie and Edward and his father slept with a couple other women.

Her parents partook in a polyamorous relationship. His mother slept with Edward for two reasons. One was the broken part of her mind that still loved him. It craved him. The other was a lot more sadistic. Edward would let her get violent with him and in turn he'd do the same. They would literally fuck to hurt each other. Bella would always be careful to hide the marks he left but Collin saw them a few times, bruises and bite marks on her skin. Edward was far less discreet, not bothering to hide what she did to him. Sometimes Collin would see bruises on his arms, bite marks on his neck, Daula would tell him when he was older that Edward had moved closer just so they could continue sleeping together.

Her relationship with Rose was mostly for Rosalie's benefit. Vampires mated for life and she never let go of Emmett. Rosalie craved something physical though and Bella was the perfect out. It worked for both of them. They were best friends, they'd made it through everything terrible together and after it all they'd only grown closer.

Collin would ask her about her relationship with Edward after he saw the memory of what Kachiri did and she would tell him, "Control over the situation. It helps me stabilize my mind. Now never ask me about my sex life again, Bubba."

So he never would, though it didn't fully make sense to him.

 

.-~**~-.

 

Collin, Brady, Lila, Daula, Andy, Bella, John, Edward, Rosalie, and Mary were gathered in the dining room. They were all singing "Happy Birthday" to him and everything was calm and laid back. When it came time to blow out the candles Collin thought for a moment before making his wish.

_I wish momma didn't have to worry about me._

"What'd you wish for?" Daula asked him as Bella cut the cake and handed out slices to the people that actually ate.

"I can't tell you." He defended, rolling his eyes at his sister.

"But, _Collin_." She whined.

"If I tell you it won't come true." He complained.

"Stop acting like you're six, Dal." Their mom lectured, smacking her older daughter in the back of the head.

"I am six!" Daula defended, "See, look!" Then his twenty-year-old sister made a show of grabbing a handful of cake and throwing it at her brother.

"Dal!"

But she'd already made a mistake, one look around the room and anyone would've known that the joke from the older sister had begun something that wasn't going to be turned back.

"It is so on!" came Collin's voice as he grabbed his own cake slice and flung it across the table, missing his sister and hitting Edward with the slice.

The only one who didn't end up getting directly involved in the food fight was Mary. Mary stood back and watched the family throw cake and ice-cream at each other. If anyone looked at her they wouldn't be able to tell but she was far away from there. Mary was lost in thought.

 

.-~**~-.

 

"Aunt Bell?" Brady knocked on his aunt's door. This whole thing with Mary was bothering him, something that she hadn't accomplished in a long while.

"Come in, Brady Boy." His aunt's voice came from the room and he pushed the door open, slipping in and shutting it behind himself.

Bella was sitting on her bed with his mom, leaning into her while they read a comic book that Brady vaguely recognized as Batman.

"You really messed up today." He said, leaning against the wall as his mom took the comic and set it behind herself. Brady would never call what went on between them weird, not when he was married to a woman who preferred living life in her animal form.

"Yeah, I know. I fucked up. I've already heard it from your uncle and your mom as well as Dol. I know you don't care about this. Why are you here, Brady boy?"

That one was weird for him, for the most part his aunt kept her hallucinations to herself. It was the thing everyone knew about but no one talked about. This was the first time in the past year she'd openly admitted she was seeing things.

"Brady."

Brady blinked, shaking himself out of his thoughts and moving his focus to his mom. "It's Mary." He breathed out, scared to say it too loud. There were too many nonhumans in the house. Mary had claimed she was going to go hunt but she could return at any second and no one would know.

"What about her?" Bella looked worried now, rising to her feet out of instinct, panic flooding her expression.

"Nothing's wrong. Well, that might not be true." Brady swallowed as his aunt sat back down, Rose resting her head on the other girl's shoulder. "When I imprinted on her when I was a kid, it was simple. She was my sister, she'd have told me all the secrets of the universe. That was what I believed. Because, technically, it's true. Imprintees and Imprinters don't keep secrets from each other because it doesn't matter what the Imprintee does. We're loyal to the end. Mary isn't exactly an open book but…" Brady slid down the side of the wall and put his face in his hands. "She's been barring the imprint and won't talk to me and it's scaring the hell outta me."

He didn't react when a hand came down on his shoulder. It was easier for him not to look up, instead he stared into the palms of his hands.

"Brady." His aunt's voice was comforting though it was also worried. "I'm not a shifter, I know nothing about imprints. Not directly. I've seen imprinted shifters though. Your father, Uncle Seth, Dol, the list goes on. All of you react differently but one thing has stayed the same through each of you. Each and every one of you, if your Imprintee is in direct danger. Nothing will stop you from protecting them. And don't bring up your grandfather. He can take a long walk off a short pier. If Mary needs you, you'll be there for her, because you love her. If she truly needs someone, she will come to you." What neither of them said was Mary would come to him because of the soul he shared. She'd come to him for Bur.

"I know." He said quietly, lifting his gaze to meet his aunt's. "Help me keep an eye on her though, Aunt Bell. Something is wrong."

"Always," His aunt muttered, kissing his forehead before stepping back and making the ancient signal for family. Brady rose to his feet slowly, returning the signal. "Now shoo. I'm trying to get l-"

"Nope, nope, nope. I can deal with what you do _behind closed doors._ I don't want to hear anything about it."

"Aw, Brady Boy. Hardly any fun. Don't wanna-" His aunt's tone was taunting.

"La! La! La! I can't hear you!" He covered his ears, making his way out the door in a rush as his aunt continued to tease him.

Their lives were so fucked up.

 

.-~**~-.

 

Mary slipped out of the bedroom close behind Brady, not letting them hear or see her. Something deep in her told her she _needed_ to tell Brady. She _needed_ to tell Bur. It wasn't right for her to keep this from him. The only thing that stopped her from talking to him was that she cared. When he started prying she realized her emotions were bleeding over the Imprint. For both their sakes she'd barred it temporarily.

She hadn't realized she'd stopped following Brady and stepped into the guest bedroom until a voice broke her out of her thoughts. "I can see you, Mary."

She blinked several times, Edward was sitting in a chair lounged out with a book in his lap.

He could see her?

"How-"

"If I _look_ for you, I can see you, I think your abilities are limited just like everyone else. We all have our weaknesses."

Mary stared at him for several long moments, part of her told her to kill him so he wouldn't tell anyone else. Actually, every instinct of her's told her to do it. It wouldn't take much effort on her part.

She didn't though.

For one solid reason.

If he'd figured it out, it was completely possible that anyone else cold figure it out.

"Why are you in here, Mary?"

"I honestly have no idea."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Alright, Mary. You need to talk to someone. I can see it in your eyes. So sit down and open up."

"I can't." She muttered quietly.

"Sure you can. All you've got to do is use your ability to block them out. Which you're already doing." Mary frowned at that but ended up giving in and walking over to the other chair. "Alright, Mary. What do you want to talk about?"

Mary began gnawing on the inside of her mouth, trying to decide how to go about this. She never opened up to people, it wasn't in her nature, after all her time of being alive sharing her thoughts and stuff just wasn't easy.

"Don't overthink it, Mary. Just say whatever comes to mind."

"I'm lonely." The words left her lips before she could stop them. They'd come out wrong. That hadn't been what she'd meant to say.

"Lonely how?" He asked, prying carefully.

"I…" She swallowed heavily before continuing, "I'm looking down eternity alone. I have Bella and I have Brady. They're my family. I'd die for them. If I could. They have limited lifespans though. Bella's human and Brady's a shifter. One of these days, I'll lose the last of my family and it scares the ever living hell out of me. Before I had to…kill her…I always had Ak. Even if we were destined to kill each other, I had her. She was there for me. Through death's door and back she was there. I was cursed to eternity on Earth while she was cursed to eternity without truly dying. We were always there. We were a fact."

"Except neither of you were."

"Fuck you."

"Mary, you can't say you were eternal. You killed her and we all know Bella or Brady can kill you. You can die, probably will."

"I thought you were a counselor."

"I'm a shitty one. Why is this bothering you so much now, Mary?"

Her entire body went rigid, could she safely tell him? Probably not. However, he did value living. If he told anyone what she said it was probably clear she would kill him, slowly and painfully. Reluctantly she opened up again. "I want someone to walk down eternity with me. I think I found someone I can do it with."

"Who?"

Of course he'd ask that question. There was a wariness in his tone, she was known for acting rashly and when she looked back on what she'd said it was obvious who he'd assumed she was talking about. It wasn't that simple though.

"Not your precious lover. No. I wouldn't do that to Bella again. Not Brady either. I can't do that to Bur. He would never want to be a vampire and I respect that. I love my brother and sister too much to do that to them."

"So what are you planning Mary?"

What was she planning? The answer was simple. She wanted a brother, she wanted someone to sit by her side for eternity. More than that, she wanted someone who couldn't be pulled away from her by falling in love with someone. She wanted someone that would belong to her. It was wrong and she knew it. However, she didn't care.

"I want to make a vampire that will be by my side for the rest of eternity."

"Who?"

Mary smiled weakly at him, pressing a finger to her lip. No. This was something she wouldn't tell him. Naming who she intended to turn would be a problem, Edward wouldn't keep quiet about that piece of information. Not if he wanted to stay on Bella's good side.

"It's not Brady or Bella?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

Edward paused, eying the vampire warily before nodding. "Whatever you do, I can't stop you. No one can. Just makes sure that whoever you pick to have by your side is someone who will want to be there. Forcing someone to be by your side doesn't have the same joy as someone willingly being there."

Those words barely clicked in Mary's head though. Instead she made her way out the door and down the hall, already planning ahead for what she would do. For her own benefit and maybe Bella's as well. That would be her reasoning at least.

 

.-~**~-.

 

Collin was happy, his birthday had been great. He'd taken a bath and his parents had tucked him into bed. The best part was he hadn't been plagued with a sudden painful flashback to someone dead's life. Some of the memories that would hit him broke and tore at him. Fortunately for him, he hadn't yet been cursed with some of his mother's more painful memories or anyone's deaths. Yet.

"Collin." An icy hand came down on his mouth in the same instant to keep him from screaming when Mary appeared on the side of his bed and spoke his name quietly. He glared at the ancient vampire and tried to pull her hand off with no avail. "Quiet, alright? I need to talk to you."

Reluctantly Collin nodded and the hand was removed.

"So I was thinking about it. About what we talked about this morning."

"What?" Collin was confused, what had they talked about that morning?

"You don't want your momma to worry about you, right?"

Collin's eyes widened and he nodded, pushing up so he was sitting.

"I know what to do to keep you safe. It'll be for you and your mom." Collin stared at Mary with clear confusion. "I want to make you into a vampire, Collin. If I make you into a vampire; you'll be safe. No one will be strong enough to kill you except me. You'll be invincible; and your momma won't have to worry about you."

Collin stared at Mary, become a vampire? A full vampire? Never did he hear anything good about full vampires from his family. But it would keep him safe. His mom wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

"I know it's a huge thing to ask you, you're so young, but I was your age when I was turned. You get the choice I didn't have. I won't make you become a vampire if you don't want to. I just want you safe."

Something in the girl's expression made him sad, he wanted to lean forward and hug her, so that was what he did, he leaned forward and he wrapped his arms around the girl and hugged her.

At first she didn't reciprocate the hug, she kind of just sat there like a statue, until finally, she wrapped her arms around him and returned it.

"If I do it now, I'll always be a kid?"

"Always."

Collin hesitated before pulling away from the hug, eying the vampire with curiosity. "Will it hurt?"

"I wish I could say it wouldn't but that would be a lie. It will hurt, Collin. It will hurt a lot. You'll scream and cry and beg to die."

Collin didn't like the sound of that, he didn't want to hurt, but it would be for his mom. It would make her happy. "Okay." He said quietly. "For momma."

"Lay down, Collin." Mary said softly, he did as told and she crawled to his side, pressing her lips to the vein in his neck before biting.

Then the burning began.

 

.-~**~-.

 

"What the _fuck_ , Mary!" Bella's voice rang through the house over the top of her son's screaming. She'd cornered Mary in the kitchen, so far it was just her. It was only a matter of time before the rest of the family came after her.

"Don't you start on me, _Bella_." Mary hissed out in response, ducking down as her sister swung a fist at her. Yes, she'd manipulated Collin into agreeing to the bite but that wasn't anything Bella needed to know.

"You bit him! You bit my son! You turn him back right the fuck now before I burn you alive!"

Mary flinched at that, because Bella could kill her. That threat actually scared her for a moment. If Brady sided with that threat they _could_ take her down. Something about that really bothered her. It revived some of Edward's words about her from earlier.

"What the hell is going on?" Brady sounded confused, tired, and irritated.

"Your dumbass sister fucking bit my son. Now _turn him back._ " Bella pushed at her but it was like pushing a brick wall and she didn't move.

"No, Bella. I'm not turning him back. I won't." This time when Bella swung Mary didn't dodge. There was the distinct sound of cracking bones followed by an agonized scream from Bella and a spell of vulgarities and she dropped to her knees holding her hand.

"Dammit, Mary." Brady dropped down behind his aunt as he spoke, glancing at Mary with a pained expression.

"He agreed."

"He's a kid!" Bella shouted, Mary ignored it as she stepped around her sister and brother.

"So am I." She stated calmly.

"Get out of my house, Mary. Get the fuck out and stay out. Never come back here."

Those words hurt, Bella didn't mean them and they all knew it. Hearing the words still hurt, a lot. As she was making her way towards the door a hand came down on her arm, at first she was tempted to rip out of the grip, she didn't though. Instead she turned around slowly.

"This is why you didn't tell me."

"I couldn't. You'd have told her. Now let me go, Edward."

"You can't leave. None of us will be able to handle him when he wakes up. Play your disappearing act and stay by his side so he doesn't kill everyone he loves when he wakes up."

The hand left her arm and he watched Edward turn and make his way towards the kitchen.

So she did.

She made herself invisible and went to the bedroom. Rosalie was sitting on the bed by him with John, they were whispering soothing words to him as he screamed and writhed and fought.

Over the next three days they sat with him, taking turns, his mom, his sister, his aunt, everyone who had been there for his birthday excluding Andy stuck around until, after what seemed like years to them but was a flash in Mary's life, he stopped screaming and his eyes opened.


	9. Chapter 9

The boat ride back was quiet at first. Mary had threatened the life of the driver and the three of them were settled on the deck. Emma had sunk into the back of their head and Holly was leaning over the side, staring out across the water, her foot twitching like a dog wagged its tail. Mary and Collin were laying in the middle staring at the sky. Finally, the silence broke him, he had to ask because it was bothering him. "I don't get it." He said, weakly.

"It's not important for you to get it, Collin. She doesn't have to tell us who she is. She isn't my sister. That's all that matters right now." Mary was so sure of herself and it did nothing but grate under his skin. He loved his sister, he really did, but she was playing the high and mighty I own the world version of herself and that was the version of her he didn't love. That was the version that he hated.

Now his reaction may have been childish and stupid but what was happening was happening so he didn't care. At least for the time. Before he was even fully aware of his actions he'd jumped up and grabbed Mary by her throat.

Mary made a startled cry before what was happening fully dawned on her and she kicked at the other vampire.

The issue for Mary was Collin was strong enough to hold his own against her, he was _her_ creation and one of the few people in existence that _could_ kill her. It was clear by her expression that she was actually scared. It didn't stop her from fighting back though. She grabbed his arm and twisted with enough force it would've broken off if he didn't jump off, letting go of her.

"Collin, don't do this." Mary scrambled back, glaring at him with fear etched into her expression. "I don't want to fight you, brother. Don't do this."

"Stop acting like you own the damned planet." He hissed out in response, stalking towards his sister and creator.

It was ironic really, Mary was physically incapable of killing every single vampire in existence. In return, normal vampires couldn't kill her. They were completely incapable of it. Brady, Collin, and Bella were completely capable of doing it though. Even when Collin was a vampire and shouldn't have been able to kill his creator, he could. Bella could've done it when she was human, Brady could do it too. Mary's biggest strength was also her biggest weakness.

"That isn't what I'm doing." Mary snapped in response, hissing.

"Oh, really? Not what you're doing? Mary, ever since your baby brother woke up you've been on this infuriating power high. I get it, you guys are soul siblings. I've seen what that does to people. Mary, you aren't acting like you."

Mary's eyes darkened to black, "I am acting like me, Collin. You haven't seen me in years but I'm acting like myself. I'm acting exactly like the girl who created you. I've been living the past few years as a laid back girl who doesn't give a shit but unfortunately for you, I am having to stand up yet again to pick up a mess being caused by overly ambitious morons before humanity gets caught in the crossfire. I'm the damned original vampire. I have a responsibility. Remember the bitch that manipulated you into agreeing to this? The one that refused to turn you back when my sister and your mother died? That's me. Remember that, Collin. I am _not_ the little girl that I look like. I'm old, Collin. You keep forgetting that. Everyone keeps forgetting that." Her gaze was steady as she snapped again, jumping from scared girl to strong and confident in a snap. He didn't clearly remember the events around his transformation so when she said she'd manipulated him into agreeing to it he stopped cold, staring at her. Everything else she said barely clicked in his brain.

"You what?"

Mary snapped her mouth shut, guilt covering her expression.

"Mary."

"I'm sorry, Collin. Dammit." Mary looked away from him so she didn't see when he darted across the boat, settling in front of him.

"What did you do?"

Just like that, the conversation had shifted. Collin was confused, she'd manipulated him into agreeing to be bit? From what he remembered of before his transformation she'd asked him if he wanted a way to suppress his ability and he'd agreed to it. Was that not what had happened?

"I…Collin, you know I have a lot more abilities than the average vampire, some of them are more difficult to use than others. I'm still developing new ones as time passes…" She pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the ground. "I can manipulate the minds of others if I focus…when I turned you, your tenth birthday…let's just say I probably wasn't in the strongest of mindsets. I realized I was looking down eternity alone. I didn't want that. So I acted…a bit rashly. I told you that it was for your mom, because it partially was. I had to take you away from your family for five years to train you to control yourself and you all resented me for it. All of you. So I did a rewiring of most all of your minds. I made all of you forget that I tricked you into agreeing and rewrote the memories."

Collin stared at her, betrayal and anger twisting in his gut. She'd manipulated him.

"Give me my memories back, Mary."

"No." The other girl stared at him evenly. "I can't and I won't try. Yes, I tricked you and yes I rewired your mind. What I didn't do was make you love me. We were barely friends back then. Even after I rewrote you. You grew to love me as your sister and I grew to love you as my brother. Nothing can change that now and you won't use what I did as a twisted way to lash out at me. Hate me if you want but as long as you can kill me you will love me."

Oh how painful it was, he wanted nothing more than to grab his sister and rip her skull from her head just to prove a point. She was right though. He loved her too much to kill her. Even when it came down to it, he wasn't sure if he was capable of turning on his sister.

"Collin, I'll show you that night. What really happened." Mary said quietly, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"How can you show me?"

"I told you. I've been developing abilities. I picked up a nifty trick that used to belong to one Renesmee."

Collin stared at her in confusion, the vampire just rolled her eyes, moving forward and pressing her hand to the side of his skull.

_I was so lonely. This was the solution. Help myself, protect him for Bella. "Collin." I muttered as I placed a hand over his mouth in the same instant to keep him from screaming as I appeared on the side of the bed. I was met with a glare as he tried to pull my hand off with no avail. "Quiet, alright? I need to talk to you."_

_Reluctantly Collin nodded and I removed my hand. I shouldn't have been manipulating my sister's son. It caused guilt to coil deep inside me but I shoved it away with ease._

" _So I was thinking about it. About what we talked about this morning." The conversation from that morning rang through my skull, he'd said he'd didn't want anyone to take him from his mom. What better way to guarantee it than this?_

" _What?" Collin was clearly confused. Of course he didn't remember as clearly as me. He was only a quarter vampire. Not enough vampire to have a fully accurate mind. Maybe that was a good thing, it kept him innocent. Images of hybrid vampires ran across my vision before I focused back on the conversation._

" _You don't want your momma to worry about you, right?" Manipulation was far from my nature, I tended to take whatever I wanted without a thought. No. I need Collin to agree._

_Collin's eyes widened and he nodded, pushing up so he was sitting._

" _I know what to do to keep you safe. It'll be for you and your mom." Collin stared at me with clear confusion. "I want to make you into a vampire, Collin. If I make you into a vampire; you'll be safe. No one will be strong enough to kill you except me. You'll be invincible; and your momma won't have to worry about you." Completely true. Not the reason I was doing it but it wasn't a lie._

_Collin stared at me for several moments before I continued, "I know it's a huge thing to ask you, you're so young, but I was your age when I was turned. You get the choice I didn't have. I won't make you become a vampire if you don't want to. I just want you safe."_

_It hurt to say because it was true. He could have a choice but I was manipulating him into agreeing. It wasn't a choice because I was going to make him do it whether he really wanted to or not._

_To say I was surprised when the boy wrapped his arms around me was a bit of an understatement. My siblings didn't really hug; they knew it wasn't something I was accustomed to. However, something about the warmth of his body on me broke me. I relaxed into the embrace, leaning into his hug and returning it._

" _If I do it now, I'll always be a kid?"_

_Eternity as a child, a curse I was all too accustomed to. It hurt when I told him, "Always."_

_Collin hesitated before pulling away from the hug, eying me with curiosity. The same curiosity his mom had a lot. The same curiosity I'd seen in Brady's eyes. "Will it hurt?"_

_No, this was something I wouldn't lie about, I didn't want him to hate me for it. "I wish I could say it wouldn't but that would be a lie. It will hurt, Collin. It will hurt a lot. You'll scream and cry and beg to die."_

_There was a brief flash of fear in his eyes and for a moment I feared he'd decide not to do it. When the one word I needed to hear left his lips I felt better, "Okay." He said quietly. The words that followed me broke me, I almost turned back, "For momma."_

_I couldn't though. "Lay down, Collin." I said softly, he did as told and I crawled to his side, pressing my lips to the vein in his neck for the first and last time. I would never turn him back. I would curse him to eternity. He would be mine. That mindset should've bothered me, it didn't though, instead I bit._

Collin blinked several times when he was pulled out of Mary's memory. Something about witnessing the memory directly from her perspective rather than using his ability was…strange. It left him feeling…empty, lonely. Was he getting the residual of her feelings at the time? Nothing like that had ever happened to him. Normally he was left feeling _for_ whoever he relived the memories of, not feeling _what_ they'd felt.

She'd felt so alone, so empty…it had been her solution to her loneliness, make someone else to suffer through eternity with her. It wasn't possible for him to imagine living millions of years with no one except a sister who wanted to wipe out humanity, a sister she was destined to kill. The concept just…it was overwhelming and hurt his head a bit. Could he blame her for manipulating him? Not really. Did he wish she hadn't? Absolutely.

"Collin." Mary's tone was wary.

He swallowed unnecessarily. Just because he understood _why_ she did it, it didn't mean he'd immediately forgive her for it. What she'd done was painful for him, she'd manipulated their minds, made them all believe she'd done it to help him. Even if he'd known it was for something more. Rather than pushing that, he changed the subject. "Vegas, right? What exactly is happening there?"

Mary slumped to the ground, glancing towards the edge of the boat where Holly was completely oblivious or had just ignored to their argument. Maybe that was a good thing. Her focus moved back to him and she smiled weakly. "A few months back I got some information from a certain person inside, Mele had been speaking with a shifter pack. There were rumors going around that I wasn't as powerful as I made myself out to be. Which is completely true. Up until very recently I didn't know anyone knew that I could die to you, Brady, and Bur. I didn't want Brady to get drug into a game of power because I knew it'd force Bur into the open. As much as I love your cousin, Bur is the key to me holding my position. That soul bound connection between siblings, you've seen it in action, under normal circumstances, it's the biggest strength we have. Being able to communicate like that…I'd forgotten how great it is to see through my brother's eyes." Mary trailed off, staring off for a couple minutes.

Collin didn't interrupt her when she got lost in her thoughts. Instead he moved his gaze over to Holly who was still wagging her foot like a dog wagged its tail. Who was she? Why was she keeping who she had been a secret? There was something else nagging at him, he'd seen those facial features before. If he could just place _where_.

"Anyways," Mary cleared her throat, drawing his focus back. "I wasn't really worried they'd try to make a move. I didn't think they were stupid enough to try something."

"What about those werewolves?"

Mary flinched, looking down at the ground. "They don't matter."

"Are you joking, Mary? They _do_ matter. _They tried to kill me."_

"They wouldn't-"

He shook his head, growling as he cut her off. "They were striking to kill. They tried to kill me. They may not have tried to kill Bur but they went for the kill on me. Why were they turned in broad daylight? I know you're keeping something from me."

Mary gnawed on the inside of her mouth before looking towards Holly and answering. "All of us have to have an origin. I was the first vampire, Ak was the first shifter, it leaves reason to believe that werewolves would have to have an original as well as humanity. Werewolves didn't exist until around a million years ago. I never really looked into them because they kept to themselves. For the most part, they are isolated creatures. I was able to flip the switch in Rosalie's mind to force her to change all those years ago. It leaves reason to assume that, if there is an original werewolf around like myself, it could do the same and more. Similar to Ak and her shifters who she could control at the flick of her wrist, this werewolf might be capable of making the werewolves obey her or him at will."

Collin took this information with discomfort, Mary was near impossible to kill and if it hadn't been for Dol binding their essence to his mother she _wouldn't_ have been able to kill her. The originals weren't weak creatures, they were scarily strong, if Mary was right and there was an original werewolf…there was one thing that didn't add up about this though.

"Why would it be working with that shifter pack? You don't work with anyone."

"Well, Ak had her pack of abominations though it wasn't really for her own benefit. I have my motivation, Ak had hers, I imagine that this werewolf would have to have one."

"It isn't killing anyone." They both blinked, looking over at Emma as she spoke up, her brown eyes a distinct sign of who they were talking to. "Sorry." She muttered, turning to face them, her eyes brown now. "I was listening. From what I've heard, you work to protect humanity. Keep the balance. You killed off a bunch of vampires and a chunk of humanity. I also heard that Ak wanted all of humanity gone. That was her purpose. Beings as old as you have to have a purpose, right?"

Mary nodded slowly, looking at the ground. "Without a purpose, we will sink into depression or madness. You're right. If this werewolf does exist it should have a purpose. Whether it's derived from living for a long time or one of those things. I'm not sure what it is though."

"It's targeting you."

Mary frowned at Collin's words then shook her head. "No. I don't think it's that simple. That shifter seemed very sure about her own intentions. I need to think for a minute." Mary got up and walked towards the area where the person was driving the boat.

"So are you going to apologize?" Collin stared at the girl with confusion. "For threatening my life." She clarified.

"No. I still don't trust you. I think Mary should be threatening your life right now."

"Too scared to do it yourself? I'm surprised." He glared and she smiled innocently. "I'm screwing with you. Look, Collin. I know you don't like this. I know you don't trust me. I may be a bit up on my high horse right now because I have protection which I haven't had in a very long time." A sad look flashed across her expression before it vanished. "Let's at least try to be civil."

"Fine." He surrendered to the part of him that just wanted to talk to the Old Soul. "If I ask you about your life will you take it as me trying to get information?"

"I'll be careful what I say." Emma smiled sadly and sat down in front of him. "Sit." He did as told, watching the Old Soul. "What exactly do you want to know about my life?"

"Where did you die?"

"That's a rushed question." When he didn't respond she sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Make it difficult why don't you? Okay. I'm sure you've pieced together that I was in Missouri."

Absently, he had noted that, it was the only thing that explained her knowing about Renesmee.

"Well I died in Missouri."

"How did you die?" She pressed her fingers to her lips and he sighed. "Fine. Too much. How long were you there?"

She paused for a moment, clearly tearing at her thoughts. "A long while." Was her answer.

"Not going to elaborate on that?"

"Never."

"Fine." He paused for a moment, "Did you know my mom?"

Emma paused for a moment, a brief flurry of emotions crossing her expression before vanishing. A sad look covered her face, "I knew her. I also knew Dol. I won't tell you how I knew them."

So she had known his mother and his aunt. That cut down the list of who she could be immensely. Unless…

"How honest are you being with me, Emma?"

She pressed her finger to her lips, not answering the question. Some of the details she knew had to be true. There was no other way she could know those things, unless she'd heard them from the pack…

"I know what you're thinking, the pack raised the girl you named Holly as a wolf. What I know about Missouri is all my own information."

"I thought you didn't want me to know who you were."

She frowned, chewing on her lip before answering. "I can't tell you who I am. You can't know. It doesn't mean I don't want you to know. It just means I can't tell you. I have to be very careful about what I tell you because of this. It doesn't mean I don't want to tell you. It means I _can't._ "

"Why _can't_ you?" He pried, pleading, because this was driving him insane.

"I just _can't_." The girl snapped.

"Collin, stop being your aunt." He jerked his head around to see Mary emerging from the small room that housed the person driving the boat.

"Don't compare me to my aunt." He responded with irritation.

"Then stop acting like her. Her curiosity and pride nearly got her and your mom killed." He stared at her.

"Your mom was very open with me, Collin. You forget. She was my sister and I was the only person in existence that could understand her on soul sibling bonds."

He opened his mouth then shut it again, staring at his sister for several moments.

"I'm not an open person, Collin. I don't understand why you are always so surprised when you learn something about me." Mary shook her head and slumped down to the ground. "So, Vegas. Wonderful."

"Why don't you want to go?" Emma asked curiously.

"I hate getting involved. The fact that they're dragging me in to deal with them means there will be bodies dropped. I _am_ going to kill some of them. Which means I will have to restructure the Head Counsel, again. For some reason this millennium is full of power hungry halfwits with no respect for their elders."

Collin couldn't help but laugh at the irony of her being classified as an "elder" considering she was probably physically the youngest vampire on the planet. Vampire laws stated no one under twelve could be turned, making Collin, technically, an outlaw vampire. Mary was an exception because she was the original and her protection over him was the only thing that kept him from being executed.

"Oh bite me, Collin. Look. When we get there, you need to stick to my side no matter what. Emma, I am leaving you with someone while the big bad vamps deal with the Head Counsel.

"Wait, you're leaving her?" Collin stared in disbelief at Mary who rolled her eyes.

"Of course I'm leaving her, Collin. You're kidding, right? A human in the middle of the Head Counsel who are planning on turning their backs on me? I may be stupid but I'm not a complete moron. I bring her in there, they're going to slaughter her just because they can."

Emma swallowed audibly, clearly the prospect of dying bothered her.

"Who are you leaving her with?"

"An old acquaintance." When Collin glared at her she sighed and elaborated. "Someone that you can't kill, Collin. I am well aware of what he did to your aunt but he's been my inside man on the counsel for years."

Collin wanted to kill her, he knew exactly who the other vampire was talking about and he was _not_ ready to begin trusting Alec of all people with another Old Soul.

"You've _seen_ who he was to your aunt. What happened with your grandma was a tragedy, truly, it was, if I'd known I'd have executed Jane to keep Brady from losing the last of his family. Just like every other moron who has grown to like your family, he's loyal to all of you. Whether you like it or not, he's trustworthy."

Collin growled at her, baring his teeth. "We aren't doing this, Mary. I trust Alec as far as Emma can throw you. We're _not_ trusting him."

"You forget, Collin. It's not a matter of _we_. I can go in there alone. I'd _prefer_ to have you by my side though, because as it stands, I'd rather _not_ be alone. If I'm right, they're going to try to subdue me, and, if they have enough strength behind them, they can do it. Almost dying, it's not fun. They can't kill me but they can hurt me. If they get me again, these are vampires, it won't be as simple as it was to get me out of the shifter's nest."

Collin stared at Mary. She was forcing him to choose between a girl he barely knew and her. Normally, his instinctive answer would've been choosing Mary, his sister, it was what had been engrained in him for a long while. Protect his sister. Stand by his sister. Bella had been blindly loyal to Dol and it had nearly gotten her killed, multiple times. Collin wouldn't make that mistake. He loved his mother but her and Dol had been overly dependent. He wouldn't make that mistake. There was a line and right now he was still angry with Mary for manipulating his memories.

"I'm not leaving her with Alec."

Mary stared at him for a moment before sighing in exasperation. "For the love of God, Collin. Yes, Alec's sister killed your grandmother. I feel for you, I do, but right now your insistent need for vengeance against someone who didn't even directly harm your family is just plain ch-"

He cut her off with a hiss, "Childish? Don't go there, Mary. If you didn't want childish behavior from me, you should've _waited._ We aren't leaving her with Alec. End. Of. Discussion."

"Do I get a say in this?" Emma finally broke in.

Mary spoke before Collin could interject a no. "Yes. Let _her_ decide. After all. That's why you're in such a bad mood, right? Choices being made for you. So let _her_ decide."

Collin glared at his sister but didn't speak up, because, yes, that was part of why he was so angry with her.

"Who exactly is Alec?"

"Dol's first love." Mary spoke up before Collin could, "Probably the only person she ever loved in the romantic aspect. Before you throw in your thoughts, Collin. Yes. He loved her too. Stop throwing that fact out the window just because you're angry with him. Bella would've taken Dol's side to her last breath because of her loyalty to her and she would've never killed her. I was there. She wasn't going to let it happen. Alec did kill his sister, because of Dol, it broke part of him and he bolted, but he did kill her, he did avenge the death of your grandmother. Even if it was forced. Get. Over. It."

Collin didn't stop glaring at his sister, most of what she was trying to explain just wasn't going through his brain.

"Grow up, Collin. Get over the fact that you're trapped in the body of a child. It stinks. I get it. I need you to work with me on this though."

There it was. She needed his help. And he saw the perfect opportunity. "Okay. I'll do it. I'll help you with whatever it is that's happening, if, you promise me something."

Mary narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly where this was going. "Collin-"

"No. After all this stupid crap is over, you will turn me back. You will make me human again. You'll free me from this God forsaken curse."

Emma made a pained sound that barely registered in his brain.

"Then, maybe, in a few years, when I'm not trapped in this stupid body, I'll let you turn me back. I can't do this though, Mary."

Mary averted her gaze from her brother. "If I let you grow up, I'll lose you. Don't deny it either. The problem with growing up is, you grow up. Humanity has changed since I was a child. Almost, devolved. I honestly don't think I got you soon enough."

"Soon enough for what?"

"Do you know why immortal children are outlawed, Collin? Why the age of a vampire is so strict?"

"Immortal children…are dangerous."

"Exactly. When a child, my age for example, gets turned into a vampire. Nine by your terms. Normal children my age have habits. Bad habits. Throwing fits, breaking things. Well you've seen how you react. That's with a more rational mind. Normally vampires don't develop mentally from the age they are. If someone from this day and age were to get turned at my age it'd be a dangerous situation. When I turned you, I was sort of hoping for that. It's vindictive and wrong. I know that. Before you get angry listen. The best part of that naivety is this. The mind of those children never truly develops past the age they're at, they _can_ be taught if the vampire has the patience and time. If I'd gotten you just a bit sooner, I would've had what I needed. Since you mentally developed, I'm dealing with backlash."

"What backlash? This isn't making any sense-"

"You're mentally developed to the age of a…twenty-year-old. We'll go with that. You have your childish lash outs because part of you will never mature. Collin, you're falling in love with someone. It's why you're lashing out now. Yes, you've thrown fits before but this is different. You aren't asking to grow up because you're mad about something small, you're asking to grow up so you can _be older._ Somewhere, deep in your mind, I'm sure you've pieced this together. You want to be able to do what that part of your mind craves but your body is too young to satisfy. I thought I got you soon enough that it wouldn't happen but it is and it's pissing me off." There was the distinct sound of a startled sound from Emma but it barely clicked with him because he was dumbfounded by what Mary was saying, "I won't turn you human, Collin. I'm sorry but I won't. You'll get over this and you'll move on. Whoever you're infatuated with, whether it's a memory or someone you know. It's not going to happen. You'll get over it. You are mine. You're going to stand with me in Vegas because that's what we both know you want to do and you'll get over this puppy crush. We're leaving her with Alec because he _is_ trustworthy."

Collin didn't respond to what she was saying, the conversation had gone so far uphill that he wasn't sure if there was a peak. What was she talking about? He was falling in love? Was it Leah? Had Leah triggered that in his brain and he just wasn't quite there mentally to be able to understand the attraction because of his age? Shaking his head, he turned and walked to the edge of the boat, settling against the side and staring across the world.

Mary had accomplished something, something he didn't register. He dragging his thoughts to this completely made him forget that he was arguing with her about Alec and everything else. Including his leverage to force her to change him into a human. He could afford to sink into a memory, maybe one of his mom and Dol eating ice-cream with their moms. Yeah. Ice-cream. That was what he'd do. He shut his eyes and was sucked into his mother's early childhood. 


	10. Chapter 10

He'd been aiming for his mother's early childhood. Unfortunately, it didn't always work out how he planned. No. He was thrown into another memory. A memory he had never witnessed from his aunt's perspective.

 _The large double doors swung open and two people entered. One I hadn't seen in what felt like decades._ Alec.

 _I sat criss cross. I was in the center of the same hall my sister had been forced to sit in. Half her life here and I owned it. I looked at my sister. Each time I saw her it hurt. "Hi again, Bella." Why couldn't I go back? Why couldn't I stay?_ Alec. _I could_ feel _his presence. I moved my gaze to him. The words were difficult for me, "It has been a very long time, Alec. Did you regrow your arm?" I vividly remembered the sight of him in Missouri without his arm. It had been my fault._

" _You haven't aged much since I last saw you, Blue." I swallowed as I rose to my feet._

" _It's what shapeshifters do. We age slowly when we change forms. The arm?" I needed to know how it was back. It was one of those things I'd always blamed him for._

" _You aren't immortal. And I didn't regrow it. I borrowed it off a vampire with a massive ego. He could've been my twin. Well if I didn't already have one." Funny._

_I didn't respond to the joke though. What he'd said hurt. The only barrier was immortality. "We aren't immortal." My hand clenched and unclenched at my side, a pained sound escaping me. That was the only barrier. Immortality._

" _What are you doing here, Dol? In the ruins of the city that held your sister captive, why are you building an army of abominations?"_

_It hurt. The words came effortlessly. The facts I knew, the reason I was here and not standing with my sister. "They're the only thing that can stand against whatever it is that is unmaking vampires. Have you not seen? Have you not noticed? Out there. Everywhere else, vampires are being unmade. Not one of mine have been touched. Every single one I have touched is safe. In return for the safety I have given them they are going to help me destroy whatever it is." Why had I known it would work? Why couldn't I let them go? What was doing this?_

" _Dol, you don't even sound like you! Listen to yourself!" Bella stepped forward and my gaze moved to her. "This doesn't need to be your fight. Please, Dol. Let it go. Stop with this insane army. Join up with Quil. You don't have to go against them. We can all be together."_

" _I can't." Tears filled my eyes, I could feel them. "I have to prepare. I have to have them ready. I have to be ready to fight." Why was I doing this? Why couldn't I stop? Every ounce of me wanted freedom but I couldn't do it._

" _Why? For the love of God, Dol. Why? Why does it have to be you?"_

" _I don't know!" My hands clenched to fists. I didn't know. That was the painful truth. I didn't know. I had no idea and she would never believe me._

" _What do you mean you don't know? That isn't good enough, Dol. You've thrown me into harm's way again. You keep doing it. You keep leaving me with the biggest threat to my life. I don't care if you believe he can't kill me." She was so broken, my sister. I'd done everything for her and all I could tell her was I didn't know. That I had to._

" _I have to do this. I have to. I have to defend against it. I have to be ready."_

_My gaze moved to Alec as he stepped forward so he was next to my sister again. "Blue." The name tore at my heart. The name he'd given me. The name for me._

" _Alec…" I didn't know what else to say. His name. Maybe it could break me out. If I said it enough maybe I'd be free. It had been so long._

" _Your sister drug me into this. I haven't been involved with anyone from either of the cities in a very long time but I allowed her to drag me into this because she believes in you." Bella believed in me. Believed I would do it. She'd drug the man I loved here in hopes of getting me back._

_What I said next was beyond me, almost as though I wasn't speaking, "Maybe that's the problem." I looked at Bella, smiling sadly, before I returned my gaze to him. "I can't leave here. I have to be here."_

" _Blue, listen to yourself." He moved forward and closed the distance between us, grabbing my arms before I could run. That was what I wanted to do. I needed to flee. He was breaking me. Something inside me told me to run._

" _Please." I jerked against him, my voice shook. I couldn't. I needed out. I needed away. Part of me screamed to cling to him but the other half told me, no, get away, don't cave, don't do this._

" _Listen to yourself, Blue. Listen to me." Everything around me was gone as he stared into my eyes, holding me there, keeping me pinned, "You're crossing lines. You need to stop. Before it gets you hurt."_

" _I can't. I have to do this. I need to do this. I need to stop it." Tears filled my eyes and when he leaned into me it was like lightning striking through my very being. The kiss was awkward, it had been so long since I'd kissed anyone, and he was physically so much younger. That part hardly bothered me. Alec. My boy. When we broke apart I whimpered and dropped to my knees, my head dropping against the ground. I wanted to be there. I wanted to be with them. Everything in me screamed to get them out, make them leave. Distantly I felt a hand on mine. Bella. I knew it was her._

" _Alec, you can't do this to me." I sobbed out. "I can't make the choice you're asking me to." I couldn't. Except. Maybe, just maybe, I could. Something had snapped with that single action._

_There was a brief silence before Alec spoke again. "I'm not asking you to give up on destroying whatever it is that's doing this to the vampires. I'm asking you to stop destroying your relationship with your sister." I lifted my head at that, looking at him then her. My sister. Bella. They were cracking me, tearing me up. "Nothing is more important than family, Blue. I have spent over a thousand years with my sister because nothing is more important than family."_

_He let go of me and I scrambled back because it was what I'd needed to do. I pulled my hand out of my sister's, though my gaze never left her. "I can't give up on this. I can't." I could. For the first time. I could. I could almost feel it. The chance of freedom that I hadn't had in years, choosing to leave it for them._

" _I'm not asking you to do that." Tears filled her eyes and the only thing that kept me from hugging her was instinct. "I'm asking for my sister back. You've avoided me since the moment I woke up. You have only talked to me because you had to. Not because you wanted to. When I woke up I was terrified. I didn't know who I was, what anything was. This girl kept haunting my dreams. This girl with blue hair and ever changing eyes. Even before I remembered you I went on this trip into the outside world, looking for my sister. Then I remember you and you avoid me. Do you have any idea what that is like?"_

_It hurt. It hurt so much. She'd woken up not knowing who she was. Even then she'd reached out for me. I'd visited her head briefly, just to see, when she first woke up, the words left me without a chance to stop them. "Ten years. I was alone for ten years. I screamed for you. I cried for you."_

" _I'm sorry." She looked away. "I regret it. I can't change that though." Her apology snapped me free. My sister. I would do anything for my sister. I'd fall off the end of the earth if I had to. I needed her by my side. I would have to give everything to protect her from me. Protect them all from me. I knew it then. I would wait, just a bit longer, it had to happen though._

Collin was glaring at the back of Mary's head, trying hard not to think of Dol's memory as they walked into an old motel room. Emma was clinging to his side nervously. This place had clearly been abandoned, the outside looked like it had been assaulted by years of wind and sand, which, in theory, it probably had. Vegas was ironically one of the livelier areas of the United States, Collin didn't really know why people were stupid enough to return to a city that had been literally wiped off the map but they cleaned it up and returned it to some of its former glory. Maybe it helped them cope, gambling away their life savings. He'd never understand nor care to pry into it.

"We aren't killing him."

"Don't count on it." Collin growled out quietly, shooting an angry glare in Alec's direction as he emerged from the bathroom.

"Nice to see you again, Collin." Alec looked extremely nervous, tension was basically radiating from the boy. For good reason too. Collin had let Alec go before because he needed a message carried out, now the only barrier between the two of them was Mary and even she wasn't sure it was enough to keep Collin back.

"Go to Hell."

"Definitely not as forgiving." He muttered quietly earning a growl from the younger boy.

"Alec, I wouldn't get on his bad side."

"How much further on it can I possibly get?" Alec snapped in response earning a glare from the ancient vampire. "I'm sick of getting blamed for that. I didn't do it. My psychotic sister did and I killed her. I killed my damned sister all because of a girl that I knew would break my heart. She destroyed me, Collin. Your aunt and mother both destroyed me. I lost an arm for her. I risked _everything_ to give them an out in Volterra. I made sure your mother could celebrate her birthday because Blue asked me, even knowing that if I got caught delivering that cake I'd be executed. I'm sorry your family gets dealt the bad hand every single time. I tried though. You all drop the blame on me because my sister is dead but all I ever did was risk myself for your mother and her sister. So you know what, Collin? If I'm this demon that you all keep painting me as." He held up his hands, glaring at the younger male. "Kill me. Do it right now. Execute me."

Following that was a lethal silence, the only sound in the room was Emma's breathing and heartbeat. Collin thought over everything he'd said, every word Alec had spoken had been true. It didn't make up for everything, and he would remind Alec of that fact. Collin wasn't very forgiving, it wasn't in his nature, the problem of this was, there was no worse punishment than leaving the older boy alive. Letting him live in regret for a single mistake. Maybe it was wrong, he really didn't care. Finally, Collin made his way across the room in a flash, picking Alec up by his throat and growling lowly. In the back of his mind he heard Emma, she was yelling for him, Mary hadn't moved or spoken to stop him. Maybe she knew he wasn't going to kill the older boy or maybe she knew she couldn't stop him. Either way, the point was clear.

He held the older vampire up by his throat, glaring at him so hard that, had he had the power, it probably would've killed him. "You hurt my family. You hurt us. You're also right. My aunt, you loved her, she loved you. I've seen it in all of her memories. Every ounce of my being wants to kill you, I should, I have the power to do it and even with your nifty little gift there would be no stopping me. I won't though. Not because you deserve to live, but, because you don't deserve to die. I won't give you the satisfaction of death, Alec. My aunt may have loved you but you didn't warn anyone about Jane." Collin dropped the older boy who rubbed his neck unnecessarily, backing away slowly.

Alec didn't say anything in response to that, either because he knew the other boy was right or because he didn't want to risk the other vampire changing his mind and killing him. Collin didn't care. The message was out there, he had done what Mary had asked and hadn't killed the other boy. Also, there was something deeper, he had seen Alec and Dol. Dol had loved him, it had been broken with no chance of success, but Dol had loved him. She would've never killed him. It might've been an insult to her memory to kill the only man she truly loved. Though he'd never met her, he knew her more than anyone else ever could've. Except maybe his mother. There were some things he simply couldn't know through memories.

"So you aren't going to kill him?" Mary broke the silence, sounding stunned.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Collin muttered, turning to glare at his sister.

"This is why you're my brother, Collin. You always manage to surprise me." She smiled though it didn't seem genuine. There was that brief flash in her eye, the same thing he'd seen a million times before. It said, "You are so much like your mom."

It left him on edge, ready to strike. The words had left his mouth before he could stop them, "Stop comparing me to my mother or I _will_ kill him." He snapped, growling.

"Stop reading me like a book and you won't have to know I'm doing it." Was his sister's response. "Now that your drama session is over, I've got to go deal with Mele. Come on, Collin."

As he made to move towards the door Emma grabbed his arm, "Wait." She muttered, earning a look from Mary. "You were making an agreement. She distracted you on the boat but you were making an agreement."

Mary growled and Collin had to step between the two of them before the old vampire could lash out at the human for what she'd said.

"I know." He muttered, because he did know. As much it bothered him, he'd realized it. His gaze rested on the human girl who stared at him in complete shock.

"You're going to let her keep manipulating you?" Emma sounded so conflicted. As if that prospect bewildered her.

"It's not her manipulating me. It's my loyalty to her. I can get past…the longing to be human. I don't want to abandon her. Especially when she's right. If I am falling in love, it has to be with a memory. I only see the memories of dead people. I don't really know anyone but my family." The destroying part was he knew who he was falling for. Whether it was the unformed imprint or the fact that she was such a good person who had been handed a terrible fate he was unsure. What he did know was it was Leah.

As if their family wasn't already screwed enough.

"You're giving in? Just like that?"

Collin smiled sadly at the stunned girl before turning, Mary was staring at him with conflicted emotions crossing her expression before they were buried and a smug smile crossed her expression. "I told you so."

"I will kill you, Mary." He glowered at his sister who only laughed, knowing there was no real threat in the threat. She turned on her heels and she skipped out the door, humming quietly as she walked.

"I'll see you later." Emma said quietly but her voice barely registered in his brain as he followed his sister out.

.-~**~-.

This place was a dinner plate for Collin, it tore at him and made it hard for him to breathe. All he could smell was the _blood._ Vegas was officially the mostly highly human populated area Collin had been in in years, that was including the two airports he'd been in when he'd made his trip to Asia with Bur. If he didn't know better, he would just assume half of America was piled into the city. Mary had a tight hold on his arm as they walked down The Strip. The roads were full of traffic and people. So many people.

"Collin, a killing spree is _not_ an option. Keep your mind off it." The edge in Mary's voice made him realize, it was bothering her too. The world's oldest vampire and she was being bothered by all the humans. Sometimes he wasn't completely sure she fed anymore, but if this was anything, it was proving that wrong. Mary did still have the baser instinctual desire to kill and despite how she acted, it did bother her.

"You're bothered by them?" He asked the question purely to distract his senses, granted it was near impossible because all of his senses were tuned into everything at once. The murmuring of every conversation and every person's heartbeat, the smell of their blood mixed with the sickening stink of the car exhaust.

"Not bothered." Her words wavered. It was a distraction. The curiosity pulling him in and helping him drown out everything else.

"Mary, how often do you feed?"

At first she didn't answer and everything around him started drawing him in again until, finally she spoke. "I don't normally _need_ to feed. The bloodlust for me hasn't existed in thousands of years. When I isolated myself for all those years, I never fed, granted I was being driven mad by isolation but I never moved. I never needed to. I don't do it now because I built up a very potent tolerance to the bloodlust. I feed. When I feel it's convenient. Not because if I don't I will be driven into a crazed state. It has been a _very long_ time since I've felt like this. I know what they're doing. It's not going to work."

"What are you talking about?" He asked as a woman rudely shoved past him, instinctively he jerked around and hissed at her but the woman was already lost in the crowd. So many people. So much blood…right there…all he had to do was-

A hand grabbed his shoulder, " _Collin._ " He jerked his gaze back to Mary, ready to strike. "It's Carmen."

Even with his head clouded with bloodlust he was able to recollect _who_ Carmen was. One of the Head Counsel…she could…what was it that she could do?

" _-probably one of my favorites out of the batch. She can amplify what someone desires, from the human experiments it is typically random. Makes them crave alcohol, food, money, sex. For vampires it's basic. It triggers bloodlust. Right now it's pretty low range, doesn't touch me. I figure once she learns to utilize it, it will be a very interesting gift."_ Mary explaining it to his mother, not his own memory, it was still strong though. It was Carmen doing this. If he could just drown it out…

"Focus on me, Collin. Don't focus on what you want to focus on. Focus on me. My voice. Nothing else." Mary went on and on, rambling about how everything would be okay, talking about the first time she had encountered Brady and how he had saved her life, even when he was nothing more than a human he had jumped into the battle between her and her sister. Of course, Collin had watched this through his mother's eyes. The talking was enough to draw his focus from the blood until they were inside an elevator in a high-end casino. The walls were glass and it was lined with fake gold trim. Mary typed a code into a keypad and the elevator jerked as they began to descend.

The Head Counsel in Vegas resided beneath The Venetian. Unlike how The Volturi had lived, it was a well-lit place, very modernized. Mele, Garret, Carmen, Eleazar, and Kate were the leaders, for the most part. Mary had setup pretty basic rules for the five of them to enforce. They could turn whoever they saw useful. If it got them killed for trusting the wrong person it was their responsibility. In fact, there were only three things they weren't allowed to do. Mary had engrained in them these things. Collin was well aware of them.

Rule one, absolutely no Immortal Children were allowed. No one, excluding Mary herself and him could be under that age line and be a vampire.

Rule two, if any vampire laid a hand on Bella's family, whether it be extended or not, they were to be executed.

Rule three, attempting to overthrow Mary would result in death. No exceptions to the rule.

Mary didn't care if they were revealed, she didn't care about secrecy. All she cared about was the balance and her family.

Now they were riding down an elevator to the bottom floor where The Head Counsel resided. The third rule had been broken and they were trying to send Mary into a bloodlust driven rampage.

There was also the smell.

Faint at first, but slowly more potent. If they hadn't been certain before it was obvious now. The smell of werewolf was potent. Collin didn't like this. There were _at least_ five of them. The three he'd encountered with Bur had been difficult enough but if they had to fight five werewolves, he wasn't certain he would be able to do it.

"Collin, listen very closely." Mary turned to look at him and he looked back at her, they were getting closer to the bottom. "Werewolves do not fight well in close range. If it comes down to that, which I'm now imagining it will, stick to the elevator. Keep inside the elevator. It will give you the advantage."

At first Collin wanted to ask why they wouldn't just take the elevator back up and run. Until it clicked, they would be locking the elevator down. There wasn't going to be another way out. Even if there was, Mary had too much pride to stand down and run. It simply wasn't in her nature.

The telltale dinging of the elevator drew him from his thoughts as the elevator doors slid open.

Mary wasn't one for dramatic entries, not usually. Normally she went for quiet and stealthy entries into stressful situations. Collin had seen that. The only time he'd ever seen her dramatically make her appearance was in Bella's memory of their first encounter.

Now, Mary was making a show, he was awestruck when Mary launched herself out of the elevator, landing in the middle of the large room and cracking the ground around her. Collin had to grip the inside of the elevator to keep from falling over at the rumbling that went through the ground. Everyone in the large room jerked their focus to the girl in the middle of the room.

The Head Counsel never tended to keep guards down there, Collin knew this from experience. The main room was a large dome with pillars running up down the center path that lead to the large table. On the back of the room was a door that lead to some of the other segments. Most the guard spent their time in the city though, watching from the outside for new arrivals. The group gathered there would've been surprising if he hadn't already known.

The Head Counsel was settled into their seats at the large table at the other end of the room. Lining the pathway to the table were six people. Not just people. No. Collin could sense it easily. Six werewolves. They stood and the two Mary landed between didn't even flinch when she hit the ground in front of them. If vampires were statues normally it was nothing compared to these werewolves. It was as if they were in sleep mode, staring straight ahead without moving.

Meanwhile, The Head Counsel looked a little bit frightened by the showy appearance their original had made. Of course they would've been. They knew they had crossed a line. A line they weren't going to survive.

Mary rose to her feet slowly; all Collin could see was the back of her head but she was radiating power.

"It is truly a shame, Mele. I would have assumed you would have welcomed me to the city."

Mele was a shorter vampire with pale skin and light brown hair. Out of all of them, she seemed the least surprised at the arrival of the first. She stood in the center of the group, the middle of the table, the center of power. Except, she wasn't, because Mary was standing several feet in front of her, waiting to strike.

"We did welcome you. Didn't you get it?" Mele feigned innocence, eying the original with curiosity.

Collin was hit with a wave of thirst again. _Feed._ He _needed_ blood. It took every ounce of his control to focus on the scene in front of him. While Mele looked confident in her position, standing tall, the rest of The Counsel looked wary. Carmen was focused but it wasn't completely there. There was a clear nervousness in her demeanor.

"That little parlor trick? Are you truly going to do this, Mele?" Mary's voice wavered though. However strong Carmen's ability had gotten, it was clearly having an effect on the ancient vampire. It was an obvious fact that they _couldn't_ kill Mary. It wasn't possible. However, the werewolves could take Mary down if they could get the upper hand. Assuming they could turn. Right now they were human. The only advantage they had was that these werewolves seemed to be obliging by natural laws.

"It is time for you to step down, Mer. Your brat brother has been causing problems, making shows of _what_ we are. He is _too young._ Just because you say doesn't make it so. You aren't a god, Mer. You are just the same as all of us, the only difference being _you_ can't kill us."

Collin had forgotten about that rule. Mary was completely incapable of killing her creations. Not while they were vampires. Of course in turn the vampires couldn't kill her. It didn't stop the werewolves from being able to tear her limb from limb.

There was also the potential original werewolf that none of them knew anything about. The theory was that Mary could only die to family. It was what they all knew. However, something deep in Collin's gut told him that _if_ there was an original werewolf, it held the same power Mary did. It could very well be capable of killing her.

"I don't need to kill you. Not in the least. You keep forgetting, Mele. I am old. I am smart. I have more power running through my pinky finger than you have coursing through the five of you. I also served one of the craziest most power hungry being to ever exist. I saw battle strategy being developed from the beginning. First rule of war is to know your enemy's weaknesses. Every supernatural being on this planet with half a brain knows mine so I make it a point to know my opposition's before I have even arrived."

Collin faintly saw as Mele opened her mouth, probably to respond, however it wasn't where his main focus was. His main focus was on Mary. Mary wasted no time in launching herself forward. Moving before she'd finished her words. It was quick. Faster than the other vampires present would have expected. In no time she was on top of a vampire. Eleazar, Collin remembered clearly. To the other vampires, the action made no sense. Eleazar wasn't a threat. Never had been. However, Collin immediately knew what her strike was for. Mary was in the midst of launching herself to the back of the room when the change hit. The scent. The blood.

The werewolves were all on their knees now. Their heads thrown back as their bodies began changing. Mary was behind the other vampires as they made to move away from her.

Collin was tearing through the room though. He wasn't fully away of the actions as he hit Eleazar.

Carmen's scream filled the air as a bloodlust driven Collin bit into his neck.

Her pulling her influence didn't matter at this point. She did it. When Collin had regained his control he wasted no time, snapping Eleazar's neck and growling at the other vampires as they circled him. All except Carmen. Carmen was broken down, staring at Collin with pleading eyes.

"You killed your mate, Carmen. You could've backed out. I know it hurts. No vampire ever overcomes that loss. It is one of our biggest curses." Mary's tone was childish, taunting. All too knowing. Collin looked between the three standing vampires, taking into account the sound of the werewolves turning. They hadn't fully turned yet. There was time.

"Mar-"

"I've got it! Take care of them!" Mary was a faint sight in his peripheral as she launched past the three vampires closing in on him.

It was almost effortless for him. Killing the werewolf in Asia had significantly boosted his confidence. It had shown him just how strong he could be when he tried. His first strike wasn't for Mele. No. Mele wouldn't die. Not yet. Collin knew better. His first strike was for Garret. He flew from where he was settled. The sound of the two of them impacting each other was loud. Like a crack of thunder. He hadn't expected to hit with so much force. It sent them both flying into one of the walls, when they hit the wall of the underground area everything around them shook, a piece of the ceiling fell, maybe more. The feeling of debris hitting his back was faint, he was more focused on kicking Garret's legs, knocking him down to level. With little effort he grabbed and pulled.

"Behind you!" Mary's voice broke him out of his focus and instinctively he ducked down, just as a hand flew over his head. "-mates-" That was the only word that he heard past the angry snarl that came from behind him.

Kate.

He dove to the side but it wasn't quick enough, a hand grabbed his leg and he let out an agonized shout. It felt like he had been struck by lightning. The most pain he'd felt since he'd been turn. Sharp, staggering, pain.

" _Kate has nice little ability as well. It doesn't faze me but other vampires." Mary whistled, "I watched her drop Garret to the ground with a tap of her finger."_ Of course he'd known that. Internally he cursed himself for forgetting that part of his sister's conversation with his mother. How had he not thought of it?

It took an immense amount of effort but he managed to muster the strength to effectively jerk his leg out of the blonde vampire's grip.

"Corner, Collin!" Mary's voice was panicked. The strong sound of two snarling wolves filled his ears.

The werewolves.

His gaze darted towards the elevator where the door was still open. Faintly he saw the mangled corpses of three of the werewolves, each of them with holes in their chest where their hearts were once at. Mary was on the back of one of the others. Her hands were buried in its fur, and it looked like she was using the grip to control it. Her head was on its back as the wolf stalked towards the other two werewolves. One had its back to her, it was stalking towards him.

All of this information was absorbed in a split second, wasting no time he launched himself across the room, ducking under the large wolflike creature before it knew what was happening. He dove into the elevator and watched in fascination as Mary launched herself off her wolf. It launched itself at the other wolves as she ran to join him.

"Mer." A male voice, coming from the right back door.

Mary stopped dead in her tracks, turning around halfway to the elevator.

"Come on, Mary!" Collin yelled, staring in confusion as a young boy, maybe seven or eight years old, emerged from the door. He had light brown hair and silvery white eyes. It took a quarter of two seconds for Collin to realize that it was a werewolf.

"Vasilii." Mary's voice was a choked whisper.

"Stay, Red. Please, stay." The boy walked forward, the three remaining werewolves stopped fighting and stepped back from each other, sitting as the youngest boy walked forward.

Mary shook her head, backing into the elevator as the young boy continued walking forward. The remaining vampires hadn't moved from their spots. Everything was quiet except for the pounding of hearts and the two youngest people in the room. "You cannot exist. Not now. Not ever." Mary went off into a small shouting of words Collin had never heard but knew had to belong to an ancient language.

Jerking his gaze away her looked up and launched himself up, tearing through the ceiling with ease.

"Let them leave. She'll be back." The young boy's voice rang through as a shaking Mary followed him up.

Every ounce of his being longed to ask her who this Vasilii was but he wouldn't push for that. Not yet.

The two of them took hold of the cable for the elevator and began pulling their way up, Collin only glanced down once and it was enough to tell him that whoever Vasilii was, he had struck a nerve. His sister looked so heartbroken, it was clear she would've been crying if she could. This werewolf…who was he?

As they pulled their way up the sense of dread and pain grew thicker and thicker. They left the city without a fight and made their way back towards Alec, Mary didn't speak a single word. Even when he tried to initiate small talk. Every time he looked at her his heart broke a bit more. In all of his time, he had never seen Mary express that much emotion. Normally she hid behind anger and pain. This wasn't that though. This was pure, unadulterated, pain.


	11. Chapter 11

Collin was worried. Mary hadn't spoken a single word since they'd gotten back to the motel. She had sat down on the floor next to the front door and hadn't moved since. All she had done was stared off into space. Unsure how to handle the situation he'd ended up calling Brady who had agreed to come over with Lila. While they waited Collin had bitterly updated Alec on what had happened. Alec had no idea who the child werewolf had been though. Apparently he'd never seen him.

After that Collin had sat down on the foot of the bed where Emma was curled in a ball asleep and spent a few hours reliving his mother's memories. There was a deep rooted temptation to dive into Leah's but something stopped him.

_"Bella, don't mention my name." Rosalie said before taking off towards one of the back doors._

You should definitely mention her name, find out more about her.

_"Oh yeah." Alice pulled a small bag off her shoulder I hadn't noticed before, she pulled a pair of black glasses out of it and handed them to me. "Carlisle mentioned your eyesight is sensitive because of the amount of time you were underground. We use electricity here so…" She left the sentence there._

Because the Volturi won't get out of medieval times here's something to keep your eyes from hurting. Jane said Victoria was the respectable one. You have to remember that.

Maybe Jane was wrong.

There you go, letting me in again.

_"Who was responsible for Rosalie getting away from here?"_

_Alice stared at me for a second, "it wasn't her father." She stood up as I put the glasses on. "I am going to take you to my brother then I have to return to work. She called you Bella. May I call you that?" I hesitated then nodded. "Well, Bella. I feel I should tell you, that voice you hear. She is important."_

Holy shit she knows about me, interrogate her. Now. _I ignored her. It was easier that way._

_Alice smiled lightly at me before heading towards another door. "Bella, come on." I got up and went after her._

_"You will be part of menu three days per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You will be my brother's personal servant on Thursday and Saturday. Sundays and Tuesdays you will be with me or one of the other workers. "_

I already miss sitting in front of Aro's throne. _I had to agree with that._

We'll get used to this.

Like we have a choice. _We walked quietly down the hall, the glasses were helping my eyes but I knew that eventually I would have to learn to get rid of them._ If Rosalie escaped before it's possible we could do so as well.

And what? Go into the daylight?

They can't go into sunlight.

I haven't lived with humans in years. _I realized I was letting her in again, I had to stop that. I vaguely was aware she'd been in my head before. I wasn't sure why but I knew that. I just didn't know where she came from this time._

_I shook my head. "When I'm his personal servant will he feed on me?"_

_"As you are probably aware, you need to recover between being fed on, on your spare days you will do your share of work." We paused at a door, she hesitated then knocked on it. "Emmett!"_

_There was a bit of noise on the other side of the door before it opened. On the other side is a large vampire with dark brown hair, hair so brown it was almost black. His eyes were crystal blue, he whispered something after glancing at me. Alice nodded. "So you're the new girl who sent Victoria over the edge?" He laughed and looked at me again, shaking his head. "You better be worth it. So tell me, what's your name?"_

Collin jerked out of his mother's memory. Emmett. How had he not noticed? How had he not pieced it together?

_When Dol had been reborn she had been reborn to look like something that meant a lot to her predecessor. Mary had explained this to him. It was why Dol hadn't looked like her mother. But Brady had only one predecessor. He didn't have a huge impact on his own appearance. Which meant that if this Old Soul only had a few predecessors she probably would've taken on her parent's appearance._

Except that wasn't the case. She-he had taken on their own appearance. Or aspects of it. "Emmett."

He turned in his seat to see Emma sitting up and staring wide eyed at him. The name she-he'd chosen should have been a dead giveaway. What she-he had known. It added up.

When Emma opened her-his mouth Collin shook his head and she-he closed it. It was awkward, uncomfortable even. The girl he'd been traveling with…Rose's mate…he'd been reincarnated as a female. Why had Emmett been reincarnated? Where had he gotten that kind of power? More importantly…he'd seen his uncle naked…even if the situation wasn't normal it really bothered him.

"Emmett?" Alec sounded confused, his voice coming from where he was seated next to the bathroom door.

"I'm right, right?" Emma swallowed and nodded, looking away with guilt. "I guess I can understand why you didn't want people to know."

"I'm not really who I was before. Being a female…it's changed me a lot. Call me Emma. Not Emmett. Emmett's dead. Has been for years."

Collin frowned at those words. Emmett. After all these years…Emmett. Rose's mate…the man she'd never stopped mourning the loss of. If Rose had still been alive…however…there was something gnawing at the back of his mind, something about this that didn't add up…he couldn't place it though. What was it?

His thought process was cut off by the sound of a car pulling up in the motel parking lot. Rather than dwelling on Emmett…Emma. Collin glanced at Mary who was still sitting by the door then jumped off the bed before he made his way towards the opening door.

.-~**~-.

Brady had spent most of his later adult life avoiding Vegas. It was the lively point of America but it was also filled to this brim with vampires. Though the rule was clear, they weren't allowed to touch him or any of Mary's family, in times like this he was overly aware of the danger she put him in.

Why was he stepping through the door to an old abandoned motel room then? It wasn't because of Bur who was pushing at the back of his mind, not bothering to hide it. It wasn't because his cousin had called. It wasn't even the pushing from Daula and Lila that he should go. No. It was the simple fact that he owed his sister. She had helped him kill his grandfather, the man that had basically been the root cause to everything that had happened to their family.

Brady barely acknowledged Alec, who didn't deserve death in his mind. His immediate focus ran around the room until he spotted Mary sitting down next to where he was standing.

His heart broke and Bur pushed forward as he slumped down next to his sister. Bur was basically riding beside him in his head as he lifted the small statue of a girl into his arms and slumped back, pulling her into his lap.

"Mary." He muttered. "Mer." It wasn't him talking, except maybe it was? Where was that line, the barrier between the two of them? The line that made Brady Brady and Bur Bur. There had always been a distinct barrier but now, it wasn't there. While he felt the pain of seeing his sister, what he knew was his own, there was more. Another batch of emotions, more potent, more ancient. Fear, agony, a million things. Bur's emotions. His emotions. Both in the same place. At the moment, he was Brady, but he was also Bur. It might have worried him, it should have. It didn't. Not at the current moment. Almost all his focus was on the girl in his arms.

His sister.

Their sister.

What had paralyzed her like this?

"What exactly happened?" Bur. That was Bur. Or was it him? He wasn't sure. He'd felt the need to speak but hadn't placed the words, until he had and they'd left his mouth. Was it his own question or Bur asking the question?

"A werewolf." Collin's words didn't really click in his brain, Mary went limp in his arms and stared up at him, with a thousand things running through her expression.

"Brady. Bur." Her voice was soft, he could see it, if she could cry, she would be. "Go home. Don't get pulled into this."

He wouldn't do that. He couldn't. Pulling his sister closer against him, again, he was almost certain that wasn't his choice though he felt it was.

"Both so close." Mer muttered quietly, burying her face in him. "I saw him. He couldn't be there though. It isn't possible."

"Who?" The voice came from further away, he didn't acknowledge it, focused on his sister with the most potent concern he had ever felt.

"Vasilii. I killed him. He can't be alive. I held his broken corpse in my hands. I begged The Ancients to resurrect him. I screamed for them." Her voice was a choke, a struggle to let the words out.

He didn't know that name, something in him told him he needed to find out but he didn't pry. He listened. Mer's words pouring over him like an ocean.

"Bur, you need to step back. It's damaging him. Both of you." Mer's voice was so quieter when she said this, different from when she'd told them of Vasilii, like she didn't want him to hear. Maybe she didn't. If Bur left, he wouldn't be able to comfort her. The idea hurt. "Back off."

This time her tone was more authoritative and he felt a terrible sensation as something pulled away from his consciousness, he knew what it was, it was Bur. Bur pulling back. He tried to grab onto that piece, the other half of him, then he was alone and…

"The first immortal child. Vasilii. Not like us. No. He was three when he was turned. I bit him. I wanted a child. I longed for it. Being the mother of a race was never enough. My sister had had one years before. I also wanted to fulfil that empty place that every vampire has with something. The need for a child. I wanted a child."

"I'd been alive for a very long time. I caved. I needed to experience it. Motherhood. True, real motherhood. A young child. I thought he would learn. I tried to teach him. He was my creation. A direct creation. So damned strong. So damned demanding. I loved him. With every ounce of my being. I knew he couldn't stay immortal. I wanted him immortal but I couldn't keep him like that. It was too much damage to the world. So I…did what I had to and…making him human… He screamed at me, screamed like I was killing him. Maybe I did. He was never the same after it…"

"After that…I kept close to him. Raised him for a few years…he…he didn't forgive me for it. For making him human. Barely spoke to me, barely took care of himself…then…one night…when he was around seven physically…he…attacked me. Came after me with a sharp rock. Of course it wouldn't do anything to me. When he gave up on that…he started going to the nearby town. Said he would kill them all. I tried to stop him…and…"

Mary broke down, sobbing without tears as she curled into Brady's arms. She'd already said it. Brady, who was still dazed about what had just happened to him, held her closer. Taking her story in with pure sadness and aching. Brady had kids. He knew what it meant. He understood it. The prospect of losing one of his children…of being the one to kill them, he couldn't comprehend it. Maybe it was because he was killed by his mother…no, Bur was killed by his mother…but he could still see it. Clear as day.

"I screamed to them. I begged them. The Ancients had brought me back; they'd brought Ak back. There was no reason they couldn't do the same for him. I begged them. I begged for my son's return. I'd lost my brother. I couldn't kill my sister and that was where we were headed. I wanted him. I needed him. They didn't give him back though. He can't be alive. That werewolf was an imposter. Vasilii is _dead._ " Mary growled the last word with conviction. Brady felt it, he wasn't sure if it was actually him or Bur pushing the information to him. He knew though. Angry. She was angry. It became abundantly clear when his sister jumped up, "Someone is going to pay for this."

"Mer-" Brady was gone, buried beneath the surface, he could see everything, hear it all, but he was gone. Watching the world through Bur's eyes, completely out of control. The experience terrified him, normally Bur put him to sleep. Not this time. This time he was wide awake. Seeing it all. Bur hadn't done this, it felt like he was possessed. It was horrifying. "It might be. The Ancients have always worked in strange ways. You know that better than any of us."

"It isn't him." Mary growled as Bur grabbed her shoulder as she made towards the door.

"It may be." Bur turned her and forced her to face them, the heartbroken, terrified expression on Mary's face broke him down. Bur was confident though. That emitted through the both of them. Bur wasn't showing weakness to her. "Ever since you saw I was alive you've done everything he's asked except things that compromised the balance. I'm here now. I haven't asked you for anything, Mer. Not one thing. Now I'm asking this of you though. Don't act rashly. You know he might be. That lack of knowledge will kill you." Bur took their sister's hand, her gaze dropped to the ground. It was painful to watch, the torture in his sister's expression, the debate, the reluctant slumping of her shoulders.

"I hate you, Bur." The words held no conviction as she slumped to the floor, Bur following, never releasing her hand. "So damned much."

"You only wish you could." Bur moved his attention to the rest of the room, Brady was content to see the Old Soul sitting on the bed while talking to his mother's only love and his own mate. It hurt him more than he'd ever admit that he hadn't known Dol, that he hadn't gotten to truly meet her. They had met once and he'd been too young to truly care. The only other time he'd seen her was when she was trying to kill Mary. When she'd been possessed by Ak.

Had she been aware like he was now? Had she seen it all and been completely incapable of doing anything about it? Something about that made it all worse. Ak had been psychotic, he'd seen some of Bur's memories of his mother. Power hungry and insane. The only thing she wanted more than that was her sister all to herself. Being killed by your own mother because your aunt loved you more than her…

His thought process was interrupted as something clicked inside him and he was buried, sucked deep into blackness. Brady was well aware it was Bur locking him away and he wasn't sure what scared him more, that it was happening or that it had been without warning.

.-~**~-.

"What do you mean you aren't giving him control back?" Lila growled angrily at Bur as he held up his hands, glaring at the other half of her mate's soul angrily. Collin wasn't completely sure whether stepping in between them was necessary or whose side he would take. Did they really need Bur right now? Not really. Brady was as capable as Bur, they'd only needed him to track down Mary.

Mary was the first to move, stepping between them and baring her teeth at Lila. "We need Bur. Not Brady. I'm sorry, Lila."

"You _don't_ need him." Mary growled at Lila's words but the older woman continued on, "No, Mary. This is crap. You haven't needed Bur in a million years. Not to fight _your_ fights. You are an ancient being with more strength running through you than any of us. Especially with that stolen power you have beneath the surface."

_Stolen power?_

Mary opened her mouth to talk, looking furious, but Lila kept on, if she didn't stop Collin wasn't certain what his sister would do. "Yes, I've noticed. I'm not stupid, Mary. That is the same power all shapeshifters of my generation were taught to _watch_ for. You stole her power from her grave and now you're acting out. You can take the world; I don't give a shit. This is the line though. That is my _mate._ My _husband._ I was told that Bur was only taking control _temporarily._ Bur." Collin watched as Lila's attention moved to Bur. "Remember what you told me? And I quote, 'Lila, we are the same. Me and him. I feel what he does. I won't let you lose him. I swear on the life of my family. I won't let you lose him.' What is this then? You letting me keep him?" Lila's voice cracked as she recited Bur's words like she'd known them her whole life. It clicked with Collin almost immediately why she knew them so well. She'd held onto the words. A promise.

Bur was shaking and Collin had to step between the two as Mary went to lunge at Lila. She was pissed, hissing and fighting as Collin pinned her to the ground.

"Mary." They all froze in place at Mary's name leaving Bur's mouth. The way it was said told him everything but he had to jerk his gaze up to clarify. Brown eyes. Those same brown eyes. Not the ever-changing eyes of Brady but the brown eyes of Bur. Bur had called her Mary. Mary was still beneath him but Collin knew that she had pushed her head up away from the floor and was staring her brother. Her nephew. "I can't go with you, Mary. I'm sorry. She is right. I promised her. I can't." Mary pushed Collin off with more strength than she should've had, sending him flying back.

"Out. All of you. I need a minute with my brother." Mary's voice was venomous.

"No. _Mary_ , no. Not going to do this dance. I'm done. I promised her. You and Collin can handle your son. But we're done." He put a hand out, palm out towards his sister. "I love you, Sister. But I'm done. It's done."

Mary blinked and looked so broken, "Bur, please." He didn't move his hand though it shook a bit. What did that mean? "Don't."

"I have to leave you to eternity, Mary. If I don't do it now, I never will. I promised. Don't make me a liar. It's time for me to go. Please."

Mary stepped forward reluctantly, looking up at her brother as she pressed the palm of her hand to his. A bright light like a rope appeared between their hearts, when they pulled their hands apart the rope snapped between them, retracting into their chests and tears filled Bur's eyes.

"Goodbye, Mer." Bur shut his eyes and when they opened again Brady stumbled back, ever-changing eyes clear as day. Lila was by his side in seconds and Collin was beyond confused by a lot of the things that had been said.

"I will be back." Then Mary vanished, the only sign of her presence remaining being the opening of the motel room door and the slamming of it behind her.

"Well that was fun."

"He…holy crap." They all looked at Brady who was staring at the door where Mary had left. "Bur…forsook her. They…forsook each other…that's what…broke off the connection…" Brady shuddered visibly. "Soul siblings can't do that. I can feel the connection…it's writhing in us…begging to reconnect…why…" Bur shook his head, growling angrily. "Mary!" He shouted.

"It was Bur. Bur did it. Not her. Brady, breathe." Lila put a hand on her mate's shoulder.

"Is that what that light was?" Collin couldn't help but ask, he needed to know.

"What light?" Lila sounded confused, and, for the moment, Brady looked confused as well, staring at Collin like he was insane.

"It was…like a rope of light between you and her…or Bur and her…it broke…why am I the only one that saw it?"

Brady was the first to speak, sounding really unsure. "They broke their soul sibling connection. I think you were…seeing that."

"I was seeing their soul?"

"Not their souls. Just that connection that ran between their souls…like our moms." So Collin had seen that, but why?

"Maybe because you see the memories of the dead you can see the soul connection when it's being affected." Lila suggested, sounding like she was just throwing something out there. It wasn't a terrible idea though.

"Well…I watched the bond break. Did they really break their soul sibling connection?"

"Yes. It hurts. A lot. The bond isn't meant to break but it's possible. With consent from both sides."

It was clear Brady didn't want to talk about it anymore so Collin moved onto something else that has been bothering him, his attention moving to Lila. "What about the…stolen power you were talking about?"

"Oh that," she looked uncomfortable. "Well when shifters are raised with big packs, normal packs that are heavily bound to the other ones. Not like the one Brady was raised in. They…we're taught to watch for a certain…power. It isn't really visible unless you're looking for it." _Kind of like Mary when she uses her ability._ "Yes, the eyes were always dead giveaways to the Spectrals but it was a precautionary measure, just in case a Spectral was born with normal eyes. Needless to say. That power, when I first met Mary and learned what she was, I wondered if it would be the same. If she would emit the same power. She didn't. But when I saw her today, she had it. I can almost guarantee you that Mary went to Dol's grave and stole that power. It's there now. It's skating around millimeters beneath the surface of her skin and it wasn't there the last time I saw her."

Collin gritted his teeth as he took in this information. Brady looked pissed. Even Emma and Alec who had been dead silent for the events made sounds. Emma's sounded very similar to a human growl while Alec's was a furious snarl.

Of course he was pissed.

Even if everyone looked down on him for what he did, he had loved Dol. Maybe not enough, but he had loved her.

"Mary!" Collin's shout was followed by an instinctual throwing open of the door to the motel room. Really, he wasn't actually sure _when_ he got up from where he was to go to the door, but he was there now.

Surprisingly, Mary was standing on the other side, an ashamed look on her face. Just as he opened his mouth to yell at her she held up her hand, "I fucked up." The words were filled with sadness and guilt, her shoulders were slumped in defeat and if she could've cried it was clear she would've been. Carefully she inched past Collin into the room. "I plan on fixing that. After this we are going to return it to her grave. Brady, you and Lila are leaving. I do not want to see you because right now I am barely restraining the desire to relink the bond my brother made me break. Thank you for your help, Brady. Really. The both of you did. I cannot atone for this mistake. I have crossed a line I had no right to. Brady, I am sincerely sorry. Truly. I cannot handle you and him. I have to deal with Vasilii and whatever it is he may be doing." Collin felt like he couldn't breathe, not that he needed to. The way she spoke reminded him, clear as day, how old Mary truly was. How sometimes, she could be a hundred different people and still be the same girl who he loved enough to kill for. To die for. To risk the life of his cousin for. He had seen so many versions of her mentality but this one, it had never surfaced. It was close to the Mary that had spoken to his mom after killing their sisters but…still older.

"Mary." Brady sounded awestruck. Like a young child. Like he had when Dol met him. Collin was haunted by those memories. They broke him apart.

"Get over yourself, Brady boy. Out with the both of you." These words were slightly teasing, not as overwhelming as her previous statement.

Lila helped her still gawking mate to his feet.

"If you need me, Mary. Call. I'm not joking. I am still Imprinted on you, it's my job."

"As if you could protect me, mortal." Completely joking. Damn. That girl had to be bipolar. It threw him completely off as he went back over what she'd just told them.

Wait.

"… _we are going to return it to her grave..."_ Those words rang through his skull again and he went rigid. They were going to Dol's grave. That was one of the last things he wanted to. When he was near the dead that he knew…family…or the dying…sometimes he couldn't keep the memories from flooding his head and the idea of going there…Dol's history was terrifying. The things that had happened to every incarnation of her, good or bad, was disturbing. He didn't want to go there. He didn't want to lose the light grip he had on his ability. But he also, wanted to see her, see where they'd buried her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Emma…no Holly jumped down on the floor, he could tell because she was back on all fours, it was weird, so weird, but he wouldn't push Emma…or Emmett, whichever, for information about why he lied for the time being. There was too much else going on. And…Brady and Lila were gone. They'd left?

"Alec."

"Fuck. You." Alec was standing in the far corner of the room, baring his teeth at Mary when she spoke. "You should have _told_ me. You robbed her corpse!"

"I didn't-"

"No. I'm done being your little pet, Mary. You told me that you had the strength to take them down, they're still standing, you swore that you would free me if I helped you. I never would have agreed if I'd _known_."

"I'll free you." Mary's words were matter of fact. "No protection for you, but I'll free you. Let you finish off your life sentence. I promised that I'd free you if you helped. You did. We took them down. Now come here." Alec stared across the room with a look of pure distrust and longing on his face. "Before I change my mind."

Carefully Alec made his way across the room. "Alright. I'll call an ambulance. Goodbye, Alec." Mary took his wrist and bit into the skin. It took Collin longer than he'd admit to piece together what was happening. She was making human. Alec shuddered slightly and slumped to the ground in front of her as she pulled her hand away, his eyes sliding shut.

"Now that the drama's over, let's go visit your aunt's burial site." Her tone was sad, this was more than his aunt's burial site, this was where her sister was buried. The sister she'd been forced to kill. However, it wasn't going to affect her quite the way it would him.


	12. Chapter 12

He looked around more than confused. Well…he was but he wasn't. He knew exactly where he was but at the same time…it was wrong. Everything was frozen in place.

The scene around him was greyish, like most the color had been sucked from the planet and only left shades of white, grey, and black. He knew where he was. He'd been here before. Many times. But the figures that usually moved in this terrible memory were frozen in place.

He recognized the instant though. When he looked at the figures tears brimmed in his eyes…except he couldn't cry. When he wiped at his eye and stared at his hand he saw and felt the tears he had wiped away. He could cry here.

The scene of Dol's death was depressing, everything in him wanted to rip away but he was anchored here, staring at the frozen bodies of a young Bella, Mary, a beheaded Edward…his aunt. This was the instant that his aunt had died. He could almost hear the echo of the painful snap of her neck.

" _Who are you?"_

Collin's breathing hitched at the voice behind him. That voice…vividly familiar yet he'd never met her. _Impossible._

When he turned around he had to bite back a cry of shock at the sight before him…blue hair…the eyes were different, the color of his grandma El, but it was unmistakable… "Aunt Dol…" He barely managed to choke the words out as he launched himself at her, wrapping her in a tight embrace that he could, thankfully, do here. _Dol. Oh God._

Her hands came around him and he truly wasn't sure _why_ she did it. She had no idea who he was. She was dead. And yet she was hugging him.

"I need an explanation, kid. I just died. Life flashed before my eyes. C'mon. Speak to me. I'm supposed to be going to the afterlife." She sounded so damned _happy._ How could she sound happy when she'd just died? "You better not tell me my afterlife is hanging out with some phantom kid that looks eerily like my sister. I do not deserve Hell. I just sacrificed myself to save the damned world." Her tone was still happy, playful, despite the twinge of sadness that filled her tone.

He laughed weakly, tightening his hold on his aunt, refusing to let go. No. He would savor this horrible memory for his entire life. His mother's worst memory becoming his favorite. There was no doubt in the prospect.

But why was he here? Leah had explained her being able to communicate with him in these…death walks or whatever as her living outside the normal plane of existence. Dol didn't exist like that. She didn't even exist alone.

 _Could he roll the time back just enough and save her?_ The idea ran through his head before he could stop it and suddenly that was all he could think of. He'd considered the prospect before. The idea that he could save someone in this weird place of watching the deaths…he'd influenced things.

"Kid."

He blinked and spoke into her side, refusing to let go. "Um, my name is Collin Lahote. I am your…nephew. I was Bella and John Lahote's son."

He could feel her staring at him and it took her a minute to speak up, "That explains _who_ you are but _why_ are you here?"

"The question of the century." He muttered, shaking his head. "Mary made me a vampire a while back. Several years back…I mean I was already a quarter vampire after I was born but my ability didn't actually take effect until I was turned. My ability…well it lets me see into the memories of the dead…only…it's been changing. I used to watch the memories through the eyes of the dead. Not long ago I started being able to interact in the environment around the memories…now…I don't know what this is. I have never done this before."

"Sounds about right." She gently pushed the boy off of her so that she could look down at him properly, cupping his face in one hand, "You look like your mom." Her eyes teared up and she cleared her throat. "Did she live happy? Was she happy with John?"

He didn't like this setting, not to tell her his story…if only…As if a screen had been flicked they were suddenly in a new setting. Collin recognized it immediately. A comforting memory, Christmas when he was around thirteen years old. Three years after she'd turned him. From left to right, Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and John were scrunched together on the couch. Rosalie had her hand on Bella's thigh and Bella was leaning into John with a comfort to the situation that they rarely showed. Daula was sitting in Andy's lap in the middle of the floor and Collin's younger self was sitting in front of the tree with Mary next to him. Brady and Lila were in the other couch, Lila curled up in her wolf form.

"Okay, I need context, Collin. What the hell?"

This was something he did _not_ want to talk about, much less explain to his aunt. It was obvious what she was talking about without looking at her. "I don't know the exact details and I didn't really want to know. Long story short, mom and Aunt Rose are sleeping together at this point, she's also sleeping…no, not sleeping with, fucking Edward. It's…" He squirmed uncomfortably, wanting to talk about anything else.

"Okay. Introductions. Who are they?"

"Alright, that's your daughter-in-law, Lila. Brady's mate. She used to spend almost all her time as a wolf, hates being human. You know Mary, sort of, she became part of the family after she killed you…saw mom as her sister, me as her brother, Brady too…" He trailed off, God their family was screwed up. "Then this is your niece and my sister, Daula. Mom named her after you. We always call her Dal. Andy and her have been together for years. He's Mike and Jess' son. Real dick now. I told her to dump him or I'd kill him. I probably still will…"

His thought process was cut off as he pointed to the family when Dol looked back at her sister, "Isthatafuckingbruise?" The question came out in an angry jumbled mess and Collin knew immediately what she was talking about. It was barely visible under the sleeve of her dress' shoulder but it was there. A handprint the size of Edward's hand, yellowing and fading. Something they'd all stopped acknowledging.

"I said 'fucking' for a reason. I didn't understand it and I never will. Dol, please. I don't know how long we have to talk. This is something I don't want to relive." He pleaded with his aunt as he grabbed onto her arm.

With what was clear difficulty she peeled her gaze away. "It's her choice, right?"

"Yes. Nothing influenced her, except maybe her broken mind."

"My death broke her didn't it." The expression on her face was so lost and heartbroken. So different from the happy carefree woman who he'd encountered in that clearing. "I mean her burying herself nearly destroyed me."

"My mom survived. Survival is different from living. But she survived. She wasn't lost like you were. Not completely. But she also didn't shut herself down."

Dol swallowed visibly. "Kitchen. Think we can interact with these landscapes? There's always ice-cream."

Collin remembered this Christmas. Bella had gotten onto everyone for someone getting into the ice-cream, no one had fessed up…was it possible?...

"We can try." He stated absently, making his way to the dining room and into the kitchen, Dol settled into one of the seats.

"You know, when I was in my spectral form, I wasn't solid. Usually. I mean, sometimes I could put myself in a sort of middle state where I felt like a mist to people, but it wasn't possible for me to interact with solid things. When I was walking across floors or sitting on things, it was just habit. I did it because I would've had I had a form. I could fly in Spectral form; it was more willpower to move then actually moving." She was rambling he realized, he reached up and touched the freezer door, surprised when it responded as though he was there.

Carefully he opened the freezer, and got up on his tippy toes, pulling the tub of what he remembered as chocolate ice-cream. When he set it on the table and pulled the lid off his breathing hitched, it was full. Either this meant that his suspicions were correct or…what did it mean?

"You're thinking, Collin."

"Is it that obvious?" He muttered, shaking his head.

"Your mom did that too. Zoned out and stopped in her tracks, of course I could just dive into her head and know exactly what was going on."

"Did that ever get awkward?" He asked suddenly.

She smiled lightly as he gathered a couple spoons from the drawer, offering one to his aunt. He was going to eat; could he eat? He'd cried before. He had to be able to eat.

"Look at it this way, Collin. When we were in Volterra. We were in our early teen years when I got buried that time. We were becoming more aware of our sexuality. I was a lot more open to it than she was but I caught her thoughts, her fantasizing about certain members of the guard. Trust me. It could get awkward."

Oh this was so not what he wanted to hear, he had been fortunate enough to miss out on those memories. He did not need his aunt _talking_ about it.

His aunt smirked and stabbed her spoon into the ice-cream. "Oh don't get all flustered, Collin. You're clearly older than your physical being. Don't tell me you don't at least _think_ about sex."

He stared down at the floor and his aunt made a stunned sound. "Wow. Are you kidding me?"

"I'm trapped in the body of a _ten-year-old_ , Dol. I'm limited by my age. Just like Mary is. Yes, when I was little, I was curious about male versus female but I never grew past that."

"Maybe that's why she was so pissy. Sexually repressed kids. I'll change the subject for your sake. So after I died, what did she do?"

Relieved at the subject change, he took a scoop of the ice-cream and made a very obscene noise at the taste. _Food. Real food._ How long had it been since he'd eaten something? Not blood. Actually eaten.

"And here you're saying you've never had sex." He nearly spit the ice-cream out and his aunt burst into a fit of giggles. "I'm sorry. I can't help myself. I haven't felt so content in years. Which is weird, you know. Considering I'm dead. I guess it's because I'm free of Ak for the first time ever."

"It makes sense." He muttered weakly, still uncomfortable with the conversation from before. "Sort of. And if I'm right, we're sitting in a memory of my mom. Your soul is probably still tied to her."

"Smart kid. Alright. Answer the question while I enjoy this amazing sweet."

"Well after you died, mom was kind of broken. I mean, she was always broken. It was very rarely that I saw her genuinely happy. Unless she was hallucinating you. I think that her marrying my dad was a convenience thing, she might have loved him but...not like she wished she could. I know it worked for them. Especially when they opened up their relationship." Somehow vagueness on that subject was much easier. "She died of lung cancer." He added after a moment and Dol stared at him dumbfounded. "No, she didn't smoke. Not cigarettes or pot. She didn't drown herself in anything to get past it like you did with alcohol. Yes, she could've been saved, Mary was going to. However, a lot of those she loved were dead, Dad, Rose, I think Edward was too, and she was ready to move on. After everything she's been through, I can't blame her. She made Mary swear not to save her. So she didn't; God I was mad. I was so angry. I lashed out. Everyone says I threw a temper tantrum; which I think I'm entitled to."

Dol laughed lightly at that and he couldn't help but grin at that, "I think everyone is entitled to a couple. God, that vampire…Mary…she became part of the family?"

"Brady imprinted on her. She wouldn't have stayed away if she could. But she adopted us as her family. Put out an order to The Head Counsel that she created that we were under protection from them. Not soon enough though…dad died to a vampire."

"I'm sorry, Collin."

"It was years ago."

"No one ever gets over losing a parent." Oh was it true. He couldn't hide that fact from his aunt. She had lost basically everyone. Bella's parents, her mother, all for what? What good was it?

"Don't." Dol told him, reaching across the table and taking his hand, squeezing it gently. "Collin, I don't know you. I knew your mother though, better than she knew herself. I know that look. Nothing can change what happened to her. Nothing, Collin. I'm sorry. Every vampire who has an ability of some sort, there is a reason for it, you know your mother's, it helped her sanity in an impossible situation. If you're talking to me, it means you have a reason for it. Don't you dare cry, Collin. If you do; I will and I don't like crying."

He swallowed heavily and forced himself not to cry, because it would do no good, and she was right. Damnit, she was right. Leah had said the same thing to him. It didn't change how much it hurt. With unease he took the ice-cream tub off the table and returned it to the freezer, taking the spoon from his aunt and rinsing them off and setting them in the dishwasher.

"I wonder…I came to the moment of your death, it was frozen like this one…could I…" The scene around them shifted to one of the most depressing memories in existence. A memory he had been absent from when it was made, something he could never forgive himself for.

The room was full, some of their family, doctors, and he wasn't there. He was off God knows where murdering innocent children. This was just after she'd flat lined. The heart rate monitor was still visibly showing that. Mary was here, he knew she was, but she had shielded herself from everyone. Unless he looked closely…she was on the foot of Bella's bed, her knees pulled to her chest, he couldn't see her face from where he was but he figured that she was crying. Tearless but still crying.

"Collin?"

He jerked his attention from Mary when Bella, his mother, looking the same age as Dol, manifested to his right. "Mom!" He cried as he launched into her arms, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

"Bella?"

His mom went rigid under him, if she had had a heartbeat he was pretty sure it would've stopped then.

"Dol…oh god this is death? Seeing my family members…I thought it would free me from seeing things that aren't real."

"Collin, please." Dol's tone was pleading, her voice directly behind him, with a lot of reluctance he detached himself from his mother and moved to the side, watching as his aunt pulled his mom into a tight hug.

"Mom, you aren't hallucinating. I might be but you definitely aren't." It was true. Either this was an extension of his ability or he was hallucinating. Which wasn't a comforting thought. But he'd savor it.

"What?" She had tears in her eyes as she looked over at him and his throat closed, his mom, she was so young, and she looked so happy, but so sad.

"This is an extension of my ability…I think. Or I'm hallucinating. But this is real for you. Aunt Dol is real and I'm real."

His mom stared at him for several moments before she made a delighted sound and buried her face in Dol's shoulder. His mom and aunt, the both of them were so happy. Collin had never seen his mom this happy, and he realized, they were dead. For the first time they were at peace because nothing could get worse for them. Nothing. This was also the first time they'd seen each other without Ak pushing at the back of Dol's mind, trying to force her to wipe out humanity.

"Oh, God. Dol. I'm so sorry. I am so fucking sorry. I-"

"Shut up, Bella. Really. Shut up. There was no other option and we both know it. She would've killed the world. I had to die."

Bella pulled away from the hug and stared at her sister, shaking her head, "If I hadn't buried myself because I'm a coward, I-"

"Bella." Dol's tone was a growl, "Stop with the self-hate. Please. We did what we had to, you lived your life the best you could, and had two kids. You helped raise my son. God, Bella, if I had been you I would've crawled in a hole and died. I would've. We all know I'm the idiot sister with the overreliance. Stop blaming yourself. There was nothing you could've done. Now you and my nephew need to tell me what you did with life."

Collin thought for a moment and they were in an older house, a house he recognized from his mom's memories. It could've been her or Dol's though. Their childhood home. In this, frozen, memory the two of them were running, Bella running down the stairs holding onto something that Collin couldn't see and Dol trailing after her. He'd never seen this one. His head also was starting to hurt but he pushed that away for the time being, it wasn't important. Not with his aunt and mother standing there.

"Oh my God." Bella sounded stunned. "We were so little! I remember this day!"

"I remember this. I was so mad at you. Thief." His aunt looked like an overgrown child as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't understand _sentimentality_." Bella defended herself as Dol spoke over her, saying the end of Bella's sentence in time.

" _Sentimentality_. Yeah yeah yeah. It was my necklace!" Dol was trying not to smile, it was obvious.

"You took _all_ of my stuff-" Bella started,

Dol cut into her sentence with ease, Bella pouting, "-when I had none of my own. Remember?"

Bella rolled her eyes at that, because it was true. "Fine. I'm sorry."

Dol's expression lit up as a grin covered her face. "Only took you…what year is it, Collin? I need to prove a point to my sister."

He wasn't sure what year it was…he never bothered looking at the date anymore, "Twenty-Ninety…I think. Somewhere around there."

"Holy crap I'm old. Bella, you look absolutely amazing for ninety-something. Absolutely beautiful. If I said you were hot would that make me a cougar? Probably not. I'm ninety-something too."

"That is not okay."

Dol rolled her eyes, "Sisters, Bella. I'm allowed to make comments like that. Which reminds me, why the _fuck_ were you fucking Edward?"

Collin groaned and put his face in his hands, _not_ wanting to be part of this conversation.

Bella clearly wasn't too comfortable with where this was going either because she blushed and looked away. "It's complicated." The aversion was clear in her tone and Collin prayed to whatever might be listening that Dol wouldn't push. Never had he been that lucky though.

"Our entire lives were complicated. Getting fucked in a bathroom stall by a fat guy named Roy is complicated. However, nothing was more complicated than your relationship with him." Collin wanted to crawl in a corner and die. He'd officially heard more about his aunt than he ever needed to know. He knew, he'd fallen into memories despite his best efforts to avoid them, hearing it from her made it all too vivid and real.

Bella's tone was defensive, broken, "Dol, he changed. A lot. Which was apparently inspired by you. He tried to make up for what he did…which he did…then one night…we were hanging out, watching some stupid romantic comedy. God it was a terrible movie. I came onto him because for a brief second I forgot…and I was so angry because I'd snapped, lost control of that part of me that still loved the version of him that I'd dreamt about…I kind of…attacked him. Started beating the shit out of him, telling him it was his fault…god I was so cruel. The things I said…" She cleared her throat, "Somehow it turned into…I ended up on top of him and…I realized what I'd been doing…Then he told me it was okay. To let it go. And I did. I let myself take out all of that frustration and anger and I let him do the same to me…we…well it wasn't pretty. There wasn't much restraint by either party." She glanced over at Collin, "The next day I felt the effects of it, but…I felt so damned relieved. I was content, and it scared the ever living hell out of me. The guilt wasn't there. Not like it should've been. It didn't matter. I went home. I begged John for forgiveness, I was so scared I'd lose him but…he made a suggestion, God you would've loved him…he knew what a mess I was and still loved me…I mean, I was sleeping with Rose already, more for her benefit than mine…but…I had never considered anything with Edward…but when John told me it was okay…the thing with Edward became common…and I may have become a bit addicted to it. Which probably says how fucked up I was." She squirmed uncomfortably under her sister's stare.

Despite what he wanted to act like, he listened to his mom's story. Never had he actually heard the full details revolving around what had happened. Yes, it was way more information than he'd ever wanted. He was still extremely uncomfortable, but it was bearable, because he understood a bit better. He was still hopeful they'd stop talking about it. There were far more happy things to talk about. This wasn't one of them.

"I'm going to save your son from anymore of this conversation, Bella." Dol gave him a knowing look as she pulled her sister into another hug, "As long as you were happy."

"As happy as I could be. Which was never more than the years with you tormenting me."

"I am pretty awesome."

Collin could basically hear his mom's eyes roll. "Not putting you up on any high horses, Dol."

"Let's sit down. Collin, I really want to hear about what it's like for you currently."

Next to his mom and aunt's sex lives, that was the last thing he wanted to talk about. Instead of fighting it he followed his aunt and mom into the living room and watched them settle into one of the couches, he took the other one for himself and watched them closely.

"Don't you get all apologetic, Collin. I get why you weren't there. Tell us about your time." He wasn't ready to tell this story but knew he needed to.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I keep posting in bulk on here. I for some stupid reason remember to post them on fanfiction.net but forget to update them over here as well. If you want to make sure you get the most recent updates go find my profile (FayTheGay) on fanfiction.net. I also do some fun little conversations in author's notes with Dol (as I've been doing there since Blood).

Collin took a deep breath, squirming uncomfortably as he considered how to begin. A lot had happened recently but where would he begin? "Things are bad again. Not catastrophic end of the world chaos like before…well not yet, but…werewolves are causing issues."

"Werewolves?" Both of them asked at the same time and it was slightly creepy. The way they spoke as though they were the same person again. The word completely in time as both of them spoke.

"Yeah. Um…Something big is happening. Werewolves and…do you remember Kayden?"

"Hard not to. She was my beta. Had this stupid annoying crush on me. Why?"

"She's having this power trip, claiming she's the successor to Ak."

Bella snorted at that and Dol rolled her eyes, neither of them spoke their distaste at the prospect though based off the way the two glanced between each other it was clear they were speaking about it silently.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat he continued the story, staring down at his feet. "Now she's working with werewolves…only it isn't just her. The Head Counsel is getting involved as well. Something big is happening and…they're trying to kill Mary."

Collin looked up as his mom spoke. "That isn't possible, right? Only you and Brady can kill her." The sisters shared a look, one that said they were communicating telepathically again. He tried not to let it show that it was bothering him.

"That's what we thought but…someone came to light and now I'm not so sure that's right. Only family can kill her, only those she sees as family, those that she loves. Based off the ancient rules. However, we came across someone yesterday…his name was Vasilii."

"Vasilii? He's dead." Dol spoke up reflexively, obviously startling herself by her expression.

"How-" He stared at his aunt in surprise, she knew the name? A name he'd never heard until Mary had spoken it the preceding day. God, had it only been a day? In this strange break in time…it felt like years ago, as though he'd been here for years.

Dol looked down at her feet as she cut him off, a conflicting look crossing her expression. "When I died, I took every memory every incarnation Ak ever had. Know the saying 'your life flashes before your eyes at death.' It's true. For me I got years of memories. Now…either the rest of her incarnations are gone to the afterlife, whatever that might be, or since I was the most recent incarnation I absorbed them all into myself, I really have no idea. Point is, some of her incarnations picked up information, heard things. Of course they didn't really know what the relevance was. Other times Ak would come forward just enough to see what was happening and listen closely. Vasilii made quite a show for himself, so yes, I know who he is, but he _is_ dead. Mary's screams were heard across the world. She was the one that killed him."

"Well he's alive now; or he never died. We saw him yesterday." It was still a little unsettling it had only been a day since the events in Vegas.

"Are you certain it was him?" Dol was searching his expression, Bella looking off a bit distantly. From memories he had seen he knew that distant expression meant his mom was in her sister's head completely.

"The way Mary reacted, it had to have been. She stopped the show of power she was doing to make her point."

"So he isn't dead then. Not anymore. Though we know that she _did_ kill him…The Ancients aren't real. Just a vague power that they made up to explain what happened to them."

"I never said it was The Ancients. I'm just telling you what we saw. It was Vasilii. Mary sure as hell believed it was."

"Can you…" Dol was clearly curious if she could see what had happened there herself but without the memory of someone dead he wouldn't be able to tap into that scene. Everything in his ability revolved around the dead. No one had died following the appearance of Vasilii. Not in the place he would have to target.

Bella's voice was sad as she blinked, focusing on the room "Since his ability revolves around the dead he wouldn't be able to unless someone died in that moment. No matter how much it develops it never bypasses that. Which brings up a question. Collin, why is your ability developing?"

He stared down at the floor as his mom looked at him, through him, he could feel it. She had once asked, no begged, him not to push his ability, for him to try not to use it. Dwelling on the past always did more harm than good. Which was painfully accurate. However, it was all he had for a long while. Until…

"I have no idea. I mean…it started changing on its own. I would…look at memories, I did it a lot so I could feel close to you…but…then I saw one of these past visions, the day that you were taken in Volterra. Only it wasn't through your eyes, I was watching you…it's all confusing…I think in these states I'm impacting the events and…I think I made him save you…" His mother looked confused, "I also think…I think I woke Dol up. It could all be coincidence; I really don't know. But…I want it to be true…because if it is…"

"Collin." Bella was in front of him, her hands took his shaking ones. He was shaking? It took him a second to understand. He was scared. Terrified. Everything… "You can't. You can't try to change things now. Not after all this time."

He launched himself off the couch and into his mom's arms, hugging her and shaking, feeling completely miserable. "If you could…wouldn't you change things? Fix them? Stop everything that had happened…Kachiri…all of it?" That was what he wanted. His biggest hope. Stop Kachiri from destroying his mom. _Stop her from torturing Leah._ Part of him whispered to him and every ounce of his being wanted to deny that, but it was true.

"No, Collin." He tilted his head up to see his aunt standing next to them, a sad smile plastered on her face as she rested a hand on his shoulder.

His mom continued as if it had been her talking initially, "As much as it destroyed us, everything that happened. It had to happen. Do you remember that memory? The memory where she tortured me?"

 _No no no._ As though a switch had been flipped the scene around them changed again and…Dol's grip tightened, Bella spun around in the same moment and his heart sank. It was at the peak of the incident. Collin knew this scenario all too well. It had haunted him for a long time. Now…now it was even worse.

A blood covered, mouth open from the scream she had been in process of in at that moment, Bella was halfway unstrapped from the table. Dol had tears in her eyes with her arms wrapped around her sister. Edward was standing across from her with one of the most hostile looks he'd ever seen. A look he'd seen every single time he went through this memory through Dol's eyes.

Next to the door Leah's tiger form was on the corpse of Kachiri, teeth in the bitch vampire's throat. One of the most satisfying sights on the planet. If only it had been a successful kill by Leah. If only it had happened sooner.

That wasn't what Collin was paying attention to this time. Not with the new sight he saw.

_Leah._

Leah was standing next to her jaguar form, her attention turning to them and a surprised look covering her face.

_Leah._

"Leah?" Dol was stunned, her voice cracking.

"Leah?" Bella was confused, of course she'd never seen Leah as a person. She'd been too broken in her later encounters with her sister. It made sense.

Collin was rooted to the spot at the sight of the brown haired girl. _Leah._

The dead shapeshifter's gaze bore into him and he had to look away. _Hello again, Collin._ Her mouth didn't move, it never did, her words were gentle, comforting, every ounce of his being wanted to run to her and _dammit._ There was no reason for it. It didn't matter. She was dead. He couldn't handle this.

"She's Imprinted on him." Dol's voice was a bit dumbfounded. Those four words were also enough to pull him out of his thoughts.

 _Not exactly._ Leah's attention moved to Dol, finally acknowledging her, _I can't imprint on him. I would've but I couldn't. I died too soon._

"You're lying, Leah." Dol stepped between him and the other shapeshifter.

_I'm not-_

Leah's silent voice was cut off before she could continue, "No. Leah, you're lying. You're dead yet somehow you've Imprinted him." Leah had mentioned the possible Imprint during their first encounter. But… "Do you know how I know? The way you look at him. I've seen that look in a mirror a thousand times. Oh the amount of time I spent trying to learn to hide it. You can't though. You imprinted on him. So tell me why you're lying."

Collin pushed past his mom so that he was standing next to Dol. Leah had Imprinted on him? When? How? It didn't make sense. He'd seen Imprintees, he had a vague idea of their mentality around the one who Imprinted them, but he also knew that if someone Imprinted on them, they knew it.

She stared at the ground, not looking at any of them when she responded. Bella's hand rested on his shoulder and he listened closely to the story. _This is going to sound like something out of a bad book. The problem is, the day I met him I imprinted on him. I_ have _imprinted on him, Collin. But…the day I met him is the last time he sees me. It's mixed up and a huge mess._

"You're right. That does sound like something out of a bad book. Then again so does our lives." His mom squeezed his shoulder at his aunt's words. Collin was stunned. She'd Imprinted on him…or hadn't…yet…

"Wait, you said the last time I see you. What does that mean?" He stared at Leah, confusion and a million other things trying to manifest, a million questions rising.

_It means the last time you see me. I don't know the details; you wouldn't tell me. Probably because I was so young. The last time you see me is the first time I see you._

Collin carefully pulled out of his mom's grip, stepping forward until he was a few inches in front of her. "Why didn't you tell me?" _The first time you met her she died._ Part of his mind reminded him. He didn't want to think about that. Not in the least. This was so close to it…to her death…

 _I couldn't. It isn't fair to you to know what can't be. See, I got cursed with the worst of the Imprints. Maybe the best if you're, you know, alive. But falling in love with your Imprintee at ten is a royal pain when he knows you more than you know him. Of course it makes the love mean that much more when he fell on his own accord. Without the Imprint in place._ Leah held out her hand warily and he took it, _Collin, I have to ask. I need to know. Do you love me yet?_

His throat closed, he wanted to say, 'no'. Tell her he didn't, and it was partially true, but he was falling, and it wasn't fair. "Yes." He barely choked the word out. "I've been falling for you since I met you."

She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her. _Collin, I wish I could say differently, but you need to know this. Things will get hard for you, I need to tell you this now though, everything ends where it all begins. Don't ask me what that means. I have no idea. All I know is that. I've held onto that information since the day I met you._ She rubbed his back and when he lifted his head slightly he watched her sadness seep from her as she looked back at Dol and Bella, swallowing heavily. _Did this work? Did I save you?_

No one spoke, all Collin could do was tighten his grip on her as tears filled his eyes, he buried his face in her side.

"What can we tell her, Collin?" Both his aunt and mom spoke at the same time and it sent a wave of discomfort down his spine again. Nothing could stop that from making him uncomfortable.

Rather than think on that he bit down on the inside of his mouth, letting out a breath before speaking, "Everything. If it's true and nothing that we do here can impact anything out there. It won't matter if we tell her."

_Are you positive?_

"Yes. You told me as much. 'History can't be altered. No matter how much you wish it would.' Those were your exact words. If I can't do anything to alter history; it will do no harm telling you."

He turned slowly to look at his mom and aunt, though he made a point of grabbing Leah's hand as he did. The two sisters were looking at each other in that creepy way again. "What you did here probably saved a lot of lives." Bella spoke first, looking back at them.

 _Not mine._ Not a question, a statement.

Dol took over the story, golden tears streaking her face. "You die after this. Not nearly soon enough but you do die. I am so sorry, Leah. What happens after this…I watched them, I didn't let you go through it alone…it isn't pretty. You nearly killed Kachiri here, as far as The Romaz and The Amoz are aware, you _did_ kill her. You get tortured and it isn't kind." It took a lot of energy but he managed to keep the memory change from changing, he couldn't see that. Not again. What was strange was the effort was starting to have an effect on him. He could feel something straining though he couldn't place what it was. Was he actually exerting himself? "I stayed with you for a lot of it…but it wasn't easy. Bella was turning and everything was falling apart and _God_ my soul…it was bad."

 _Who turned Bella?_ Somehow it had slipped his mind, she was turned here…this was what had broken her. The first time.

"Edward turned me,"

His mom stared at the floor as Dol picked up the story, "According to him he did it for his own benefit as well as Renesmee's. He saw how much trouble we were causing and figured out something was brewing. A way to free her. It was also a ploy for his own benefit. If he couldn't have Bella's blood, he'd have her body."

The sisters shared an uncomfortable look before Bella took over, answering Leah's questioning look. "We didn't save her. We tried but she didn't want to be saved. She was too broken." Leah averted her gaze, looking back towards where her body was frozen tearing into Kachiri.

The story about Edward was one of those things he probably wouldn't have ever learned if it wasn't for his ability. When Collin had known Edward he'd been a different man. He'd played dad to him after John had died though it had been a bit late since Collin had already been a vampire. Before that Collin knew he'd also played father figure to Brady off and on during his visits. Of course he was also his mother's lover, but that was also something he never would have learned about if it hadn't been for him being a quarter vampire.

 _How do I die?_ A question everyone wants to know the answer to but also doesn't, the million-dollar question.

"Zafrina kills you. Aunt Dol and Edward get your innocence proven at your trial then Zafrina kills you before escaping the city."

Dol stepped forward and spoke up, "You save a lot of lives, Leah. Without your death…a lot of things would've been different. A whole lot. We may not have ever escaped the city. Not as easily as we did. You don't die in vain."

Leah nodded, though her grip tightening on his didn't pass his notice. _Collin, I really wish I'd gotten to meet you in life._

"Our lives are tragic." Their family was cursed. It had to be. Nothing ever worked out, it was one thing after another after another…nothing good ever worked for them.

"Let's talk about anything other than this." Dol's tone was hopeful. Considering they were dead it made sense they didn't want to dwell on the negative parts of their past…

"Any memory suggestions?" He asked them. This memory wasn't pleasant. Not for a happy conversation.

 _Collin, I don't think I can follow you like they do._ Leah's grip tightened and he turned around to see her smiling sadly at him.

"You know I can't." He didn't want to leave her. He wanted to spend the rest of eternity with her. He was supposed to be her Imprintee. Or he would be. It wasn't fair.

 _When we met, you told me I can't leave my own memories. I'm sorry, Collin._ She took his hand and pressed a gentle kiss to it.

"What if I can fix it?"

_You know you can't. The past is the past._

"You've been telling me that since I met you."

_And I'll keep telling you it. Now go. Enjoy your time with your mom and aunt._

"I-" She shook her head and he shut his mouth. As much as it hurt him, she didn't want him to say the words. Instead of pushing for that he smiled sadly, "I'll see you the day you die." A bit of a strange sentence, depressing as well. Something deep inside him told him that they wouldn't have more encounters on her part before that.

 _The day we meet, right?_ She asked, a bit mournful. Of course the idea of meeting someone on their death date was tragic.

"The day we meet. The first time you tell me that I can't change the past."

 _Won't be the last._ She smiled, a bit more genuine than it had been. _You need to stop dwelling on it, Collin. Nothing can be changed._ She pressed a kiss to his forehead and stepped back, looking over at Bella and Dol. _Thank you._

"For getting you killed?" Dol's voice was a bit bitter.

"Dol."

"Sorry, Bella. It's crap though. You know it is."

_Neither of you killed me. In fact, you saved me. From the moment Emmett gave me to Kachiri, she put me through all forms of emotional and physical torture. When she first got me she experimented on me. Pushed me to the brink of starvation and a hundred other things. Testing shapeshifter limits. For the first time in years, in this room, I was truly free. Free to make my own stupid choice. What happened to you here, Bella. It was terrible. All of it. You both saved me. The events around this terrible night saved my life. Even If I die afterwards. I can't imagine anyone is capable of harming me in the perfected ways Kachiri learned. Don't blame yourselves. Not now and not ever again._

"I'll never stop blaming myself for it."

Collin closed his eyes, tightening his hold on Leah, not ever wanting to let go.

_The entire city saw the two of you as selfish individuals. You weren't selfish. You simply had a good sense of self preservation. Now go. I will see you again, Collin._

"Goodbye, Leah." He muttered softly before the scene around them melted away to another one. Collin didn't have time to take in the sights around him as he collapsed to the snowy ground beneath him, a cry of pain escaping him as he felt something protest deep in him. All he could do was grab onto the sides of his head, not that it did any good, and fight back the tearing agony that tore through him. If the pain of his transformation was anything to go by he would take that a hundred times over just to rid himself of this. It went on for what felt like hours and all he could do was lean over in the snow and scream out in pain until finally the agony started dying away and he became faintly aware of hands on his shoulders. Shaking him, trying to get his attention.

Opening his eyes, that he'd closed at some point during his agony, he flicked his gaze onto the person standing in front of him.

He launched himself into his mom's arms without thinking, tears streaking his cheeks. It hurt. It all hurt. Everything hurt. There was nothing he could think of to describe of where the pain was, because it was _everywhere_. In his mind, in his soul, in his body, wherever that was, it was everywhere. Several years in the future from the probably location of this memory.

Something deep in him told him the painful truth. It was his ability. This was the backlash from him using his ability like this and he needed to stop. He didn't want to.

"Are you alright? Talk to me. Please." Bella was frantic, he wanted to open his mouth again but he was worried if he did he'd scream. The pain was still there, not as unbearable as it had been but still torturous.

Instead of speaking he tightened his hold on her and cried silently into her shoulder. Finally, after what felt like several more hours, the pain subsided enough he knew he could talk again. That part of him was still telling him he needed to stop using his ability but he didn't want to. He wasn't ready to leave his mom.

"I…" He trailed off when he realized his voice was rough from the shouting. Clearing his throat he started up again, "I think…I can't keep…"

"It's okay, Collin. It's okay, baby boy."

He made a soft whimpering sound as he clung tighter to his mom, something else clicking with him and panic flaring through him. "Dol." He jerked his head around to try to spot his aunt but…she was gone. She wasn't there. The memory was a happy memory for his mom, a good memory, the Christmas she had learned she was pregnant with him. This was during their snowball fight. If he hadn't been frantically looking for his aunt he might've relished in the happiness in his family's expressions, instead he was terrified. Had he lost his aunt? Was she-

"She's here. Collin, look at me." Making a pained sound he looked back at his mom and realization dawned on him.

"Why?"

His mom smiled weakly at him. "We're the same person, Collin. To an extent." She paused for a moment, a genuine smile crossing her expression, "Quiet, Dol. In that regard I am definitely _not_ you."

He relaxed into his mom, despite the fact that Dol was, literally, back in his mom's head…how did that work in this? Their souls had to truly be connected in this…whatever it was. Which was more than bizarre and uncomfortable to think about.

"Now tell us what happened."

He squirmed uncomfortably, not wanting to tell her what he knew. What something kept telling him was the truth. He wouldn't lie to his mom and he wouldn't keep information from her. "When we left Leah…um…my ability. I think it's…draining me. Whatever that means. It's…It hurt. A lot. I can't…"

"You need to let us go."

"I can't."

"Collin."

He blinked, pulling back and looking up at his mom, tears falling down his face. "I can't. Not again. I wasn't there. I should've been there but I wasn't. I should've been. I can't let you go now."

"I love you, baby boy, and this, this is more than I ever could've asked for. One final, coherent conversation with my son. You need to let go now. You need to return to your life."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are. We could spend forever arguing about this but you're in pain. Let go, Collin. I love you."

Collin's throat closed up and he clung to her, not wanting to let go. He couldn't do that. There had to be more time.

"Collin."

"I love you both. If you see her in the afterlife, tell Leah I love her." He muttered as he allowed the scene around them slip away until they were gone and he was being sucked back to the real world.


	14. Falling Apart

Collin's eyes flickered open and the first thing he became aware of was the agonizing burning in his throat. There was no time to think as he launched himself to his feet and followed his senses to the corner of the, what he unconsciously noted as, bedroom. Without a thought he threw open the closet door, again unconsciously noting was locked, and threw himself into it, hitting the mostly unconscious human body. The human didn't fight as Collin struck for her throat, biting into the flesh and sating himself. He was pretty sure she couldn't.

It wasn't enough to fully sate his thirst, which was strange, but it was enough to help him concentrate.

_What the hell just happened?_

That was the first thought that ran through his head. Which was accurate for generally everything he'd just experienced. He'd never starved himself of blood, he'd been Mary's creation and he'd always taken what he wanted. However, the way he felt then felt exactly what he expected starving himself would feel like.

Which raised an important question.

Why had he felt like he'd been starved?

He stared at the woman he'd drained, a blonde haired woman no older than thirty. He made a face at the sight and carefully pushed himself to his feet, expanding his senses and trying to pinpoint where exactly he was.

While he allowed his other senses to explore the area which, so far, was empty of any presence other than the residual scent of the woman he had just killed. As expected he didn't find Mary's scent at first.

With his visual senses he eyed the bedroom around him, stepping out of the closet and looking at the bed in the corner of the very empty bedroom that seemed extremely familiar. Where had he seen this before?

He thought back across every memory he had, his own and everyone else. This room was familiar yet he couldn't place where from.

Who did it belong to?

It took a bit of sifting but finally he figured it out. Well it had looked a whole hell of a lot different back then but it _was_ the same room.

Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion he made his way to the exit, why was he in Forks? Why was he in his mother's childhood home? More importantly, why had he been left in his grandmother's bedroom? The house had been abandoned a long while back, they still owned it, but no one lived in it. In fact, nobody lived in Forks anymore.

Collin pushed open the door and looked out, seeing no one. "Mary, if you're here. Come out and talk. What's going on?"

Silence. Nothing.

His other senses weren't picking anything up either. In three words, it was unnerving. In more than three, there was seriously something wrong and what the hell was going on?

The last thing he remembered before being sucked into his aunt's memory was arriving at her grave. That had been in Colorado. What the hell was he doing in Washington? Why was he here and where the hell was Mary?

This felt like something out of a horror movie. Except he was the only one killing so far.

He made his way to the living room, flashes of the conversations he'd just had with his mom and aunt flashing through his mind, one after the other.

"Mary?" He tried again, nothing. Frowning he made his way to the kitchen, spotting a small cellphone sitting on the counter and a, _thank god_ , note. He lifted the note written in an elegant script and skimmed it, eyes widening and a shocked sound escaping him at what it said.

_Collin,_

_It's been a month since you became unresponsive. I'm sorry but we had to leave. While no one can kill me they can incapacitate me again. Whatever Vasilii is doing, he's making his move. The Head Counsel regrouped and they're pissed. Call me when you wake up._

_\- Mary_

_It's been three weeks since I wrote that. I'm in a rush. Damnit, Collin. Of all the times you could possibly do this. I kidnapped someone so you can feed when you wake up. If she's dead when you get up, sorry about that. I didn't want to risk her getting loose so I tied her up and left her._

_Emma is missing. Kayden made her move on Brady's family. Call Nahuel when you wake up._

_-Mary_

Without a thought, Collin turned the phone on and waited, impatiently, for it to turn on. Okay. So a month at least. Considering the woman was still alive when he woke up, at the most he'd assume a week since Mary had last been there. A week was being generous.

It had been almost two months since he'd left. Which made no sense. Not one single bit of sense. Sure, he'd checked out on more than one occasion and time had passed. Never like that. Never that drastically.

The second the screen was on he dialed Nahuel's number and pressed the phone to his ear, counting the rings impatiently. _Ring, ring, ring, rin-_

"Hello?" Came a groggy voice, _Brady._

"Brady?"

"Collin?" Suddenly his cousin was much more awake. "Mary!"

_One, two_ , "Collin! Dammit, what the hell!" Mary sounded uncharacteristically exhausted. Actually, come to think of it, Collin didn't think she _could_ sound exhausted. "Two _months_. What the _hell_?"

"I-"

"You should've listened to your mom. Your gift is so off the rails. What in the _hell_?"

"I don't _know_ , Mary." He hissed out, snapping. "You tell me, miss motherofthespecies."

Silence on the other line, "I have no idea, Collin. I'm sorry. Look, we're on the island."

"You're hiding?" He asked her disbelievingly, a growl on the other end was the response. "I'm not _hiding._ Not from some-"

"I'm _not_ hiding. Fucking hell. Brady, talk to him."

The sound of movement, a borderline snarl, then the sound of the walls rattling and Nahuel's shout, "Mary, don't you destroy my house! I will end you if you do!" An empty threat that lacked Nahuel's normal humor.

Mary was hiding? What had happened? What had changed? "Collin, you still there? She cracked the screen."

Collin shuddered out a breath at Brady's uneasy words. "Yes."

"Look, the past couple months have been a mess. Really bad for every species. Mary is under a lot of stress. Hold on." Brady went quiet for a minute and Collin listened to the sound of movement on the other line.

Nahuel's voice coming from somewhere in the background, "I will bite you if you don't stop _touching_ things. Jesus Christ. You're worse than _children_."

A muttered apology from an unrecognizable voice.

A door clicking shut. "I'm going to skip to the important stuff. I know you have a lot of questions but you need to get here. First thing is this. Keep in tune with your surroundings. This is important, Collin. If you hear _anything_ that sounds like another creature assume that it wants to kill you." With that warning he stretched his senses out to listen closely, checking for footsteps or anything within the distance he could reach. "About three days after you blacked out Ayla warned us that Kayden and her pack had entered the states. They didn't make a move at first. Vasilii did. The werewolves are slaughtering vampires and shapeshifters left and right. That's where Mary came in. See, The Head Counsel was great but they turned on Mary and their ally is now slaughtering the species. You can imagine that not too many vampires are rooting for them at the moment. If you had to look for guidance on genocide, where would you go?"

Collin didn't hesitate in his answer, "Mary." So Vasilii was having vampires and werewolves slaughtered by the handfuls.

"Yes. Most everyone knows about my Imprint on her, vampires started having shapeshifters send in calls for help. Which of course put Mary in a spot she never wanted."

"She's stuck being a leader." Collin breathed out.

He could almost see Brady shake his head, "It's more than that. She's the oldest creature in existence. It isn't just the vampires looking to her for guidance but shapeshifters as well. Well, those that don't blame this entire mess on her. She's having to guide two species on how to survive the werewolves while also having to consider every single one of them may turn on her at any moment. Then of course she couldn't bring you without risking killing you. She's using _bloodbags,_ Collin. It's _bad._ " He said the last part quietly, as though saying it quiet enough might make it not real. "You need to join us but you need to do it without getting captured or killed."

"Wait, Br-"

"I don't know how Emma got kidnapped and I don't have time to talk. I need to get my three hours of sleep so I can get back to redirecting the packs. Just…get here. Don't get cau-"

"Give me the phone." Mary's voice came from nowhere and Brady made an irritated sound, "I don't have time to argue. Go. Sleep." Then she was on the line and the sound of feet stomping was distinct. "Collin, I'm sorry. I don't want to do this but I _can't_ come for you. If my scent gets caught on the mainland there will be a lot of problems. I can't cloak myself from those that want my head on a platter when they're all looking for me."

"I can't hide fro-"

"I know." Mary breathed out, growling with irritation, "I'm sorry, Collin. If you're alone it's one thing, if you're with me then it's something else entirely. The entire paranormal world is falling apart and all I can tell you is to be discreet. Pack some of Bella's clothes and take the car. Ditch the car in the nearest city and put her clothes on to hopefully mask your scent. When you're crossing the states, stick to the cities when you can. Use the humans as a camouflage." She paused for several long moments, there was the distinctive sound of movement on the other line, something told him she was moving away from the house. Collin couldn't bring himself to say anything, afraid of what might come out. "If you get caught… I'm sorry. I was wrong. I was so damned wrong. I should've never turned you. I forced you to be my brother and-"

"I'm not going to die." He couldn't listen to that. Not that. Not a farewell speech. His words were sure.

"I know that you won't die." A shaky breath on the other line, "There are three people on the planet that can kill me. Just three. One is safely tucked away on this island, one wants me dead, and one is the perfect bargaining chip if caught alive. From the little that Ayla has been able to get from her mom's pack, Kayden is actively looking for you." Which meant that he _shouldn't_ be in Forks. That was the _last_ place he should be. "If they catch you, they'll use you as leverage. Bait that I will bite at."

"Mary." He warned. "If they catch me, you _won't_ come for me. Swear to me."

Silence for one, two, "I can't promise that. I'm low on family." Collin gritted his teeth. They couldn't have this argument now, despite it was the only chance they had to have it. "Come to the island. Don't leave a scent trail to it. Come in from a different border."

"Okay." He muttered, was that a heartbeat? He listened closer but he couldn't tell. He was almost certain he'd heard a heartbeat. Was he being paranoid?

"And Collin…" Pause, there again. Definitely something. "I'm sorry." Of course she wouldn't say it. 'I'm sorry' was her form of the three words. He knew what she meant.

"I love you too." He muttered quietly into the line, "I'll be quick and quiet. I have to go." He hung up before she could say anything else.

Definitely a heartbeat.

And footsteps crunching across leaves.

There was only one. Of course that didn't mean there weren't more waiting in the distance. Out of range. Using the single, what he suspected as, shapeshifter to draw him in.

He muted the phone and pocketed it as he made his way upstairs, gathering some of his mom's childhood clothes from the rubble that had once been her dresser.

He grimaced slightly at his mom's memory of destroying this room. It definitely wasn't one of her finer moments. It also had been a fair reaction to the situation.

He found one of their old suitcases and began piling those clothes into it, basking in his mom's residual scent. It wasn't much. Too much time had passed. It had to be enough.

The sound of footsteps and the heartbeat were getting closer.

_Damnit._

He had to kill whatever it was. If he didn't he had no chance.

Wait…they were running. Paws hitting the forest floor. One wolf or whatever it was.

High alert. He lifted the suitcase and slipped down the stairs silently, setting the suitcase by the door and listening. Definitely running.

He listened and waited. Waited for them to get closer. Waited just inside the door, not breathing, not moving…just outside. Just the one. So close he could smell it now. Shapeshifter. Definitely a shapeshifter and…the crunching of bones…

Knocking on the door.

_Knocking?_

He blinked, the knocking being done in a weird pattern that could almost come across as something being hit around or moved around.

Hesitantly he opened the door, prepared for the worst.

What he was met with the sight of was definitely _not_ who he'd expected.

Flashes of his mom's memories ran across his vision.

" _Haley?_ " He asked disbelievingly. She was old. Much, much older than the young woman his mom had met all those years ago.

_What the hell?_

She pressed a finger to her lips, her eyes panicked, her entire appearance ragged and exhausted. She made several motions with her hands which he stared blankly at.

She gave him a look that told him that if she could speak, she'd be chewing him out.

_Haley._

More extended family, though Quil was never really actually seen as family. He was Dol's brother and Haley was his which meant that Haley was his… _complicated family bonds_.

She pushed past him and made a beeline for the kitchen, he followed her with unease as she dug a pen out and scribbled out a note before handing it to him.

_Hidden microphones in house. Don't talk. Broke off from Kayden's pack. I'm supposed to be patrol. Need to leave now. She wants your head. Know you have no reason to trust me but it's true. She heard you talk to Mary._

Collin shifted uncomfortably, reading the note and looking at the girl in front of him. She could've been lying. A massive part of Collin truly believed she was lying. There was no reason for him to trust her.

Except that god forsaken curse that was going to get him killed.

_Family._

He clenched his teeth, watching her for a moment before nodding and making his way back towards the door.

_It had to be a mute._ He heard the sound of her footsteps following him, carefully quiet as he picked the suitcase up and made his way out the door. Silently he walked down the sidewalk, taking in the sight of the overgrown neighborhood thoughtfully. In the driveway there was a van parked that he had no doubt was his getaway vehicle. Glancing back at the golden haired woman who was following him quietly he returned his focus to the car, opening the back door and throwing the suitcase in. Just as he went to get in the driver side a hand came down on his sleeve, he met the woman's eyes to see a silent statement.

" _Let me drive._ " He shouldn't have agreed but he did, nodding faintly and moving around to the other side.

" _Ditch the car._ " He heard Mary's words from before and grimaced. _She must've suspected._

Which meant the car was probably in the same shape as the house.

Great.

Once they were both seated she started it up and cast him an apologetic glance.

He needed to talk to her because he truly couldn't trust her until he got a better understanding.

He pulled the phone from his pocket and dialed out as Haley pulled out of the driveway and began driving. He listened patiently until finally the other line clicked.

"Ganymede's Just-Like-The-God Kidnapping Service, how may I help you?" Nahuel's voice came from the other line, trying, and failing, to sound lighthearted.

"It's Collin."

"I know it's Collin. Caller ID is a great little gift in this day and age." Pause, the sounds of claws on tile flooring followed by bones breaking and an indecipherable whisper _._ "You're with Haley. Smart move. Possibly." He glanced over at Haley who was watching the road.

"Should I worry?" He asked.

"Ayla heard about it which could mean anything. I'd be wary." The sound of running and something shattering. "Dammit, girls!" Anger. A faint smile appeared on his face as he listened to the commotion. Even if he had no idea what exactly was going to happen, it sounded familiar. Family bickering. Vivid memories of him and Daula running through the house, despite the age difference, and getting into trouble flashed across his vision. His mom's memories of her and Dol followed closely and his throat closed. "Adrian come get your daughters or they'll be dinner!" A long sigh and frightened squeals then Nahuel was talking to him again, "Children are nightmares but I'll be damned if I didn't miss them. Collin, I-"

"Nahuel, I need you out here!" A voice called from a distance. Lila. A snarl from what was definitely a wolf, barely audible, but there.

"Oh for the love of- Collin, I have to go. Be careful." A click from the other line seconds after the sound of yowling from a wolf in pain.

Okay so things there were tense. It wasn't hard to assume that there were some of Mary's trusted shapeshifters and vampires there. That didn't change the automatic tension between the two enemy species. Wonderful.

He let out a shuddering sigh, glancing at Haley.

All she did was offer him the most reassuring look she could.

This silent car ride was going to drive him insane. Shutting his eyes, he allowed someone's memory to carry him away.

.-~**~-.

He slowly slipped out of a visit with a young Leah. Now that he knew…she had been around eleven in the memory. They'd spent some time talking about nothing specific, her life, Emmett, there wasn't much to talk about. She basically spent all of her time in that bedroom.

He had learned that Emmett had been a good father to her. Probably better than John. Part of him was a bit envious if it. Even if Emmett had been forced to give her to Kachiri, he had tried to give her a semi-normal life.

A lot of blame was put on the parents in that city, 'they should've let them go', 'they should've freed them'. Collin picked up pretty quickly from her stories that it wasn't simple. There were specific rules and regulations that regulated the vampires that were allowed to leave the city. Why Edward had never fully explained that to them baffled him but…Edward was dead.

Leah…dammit. That Imprint that couldn't exist. She was so happy to see him and from what he could tell it was one of the first times she'd met him.

He blinked several times, looking out the window to see them pulling into a city. He couldn't place it and didn't particularly care.

"Ditching it?" He asked her and she gave a slight nod, parking in a semi-crowded parking lot. He twisted in his seat and pulled the suitcase of his mom's clothes from the back, he gathered a couple shirts and offered one two Haley who took it, sniffing it and offering him a sad smile. She pulled it on and he pulled the shirt then jacket on over his own clothes, basking in the scent for a few moments before climbing out of the car.

They made their trek down the street in silence, as expected.

Traveling with a mute was dull.

Didn't mean he couldn't talk.

"Haley, I'm going to talk. I need some reassurances because…well your family isn't exactly on best terms with us."

She stopped walking and grabbed his arm. He turned and uncertainly watched as she met his gaze before jerking her thumb towards herself.

_Charades_.

"I?"

She nodded once. After a second she made an 'X' in front of her with her hands, eying him hopefully.

This was not the time for this. "Killed?" She shook her head. His mind ran across options. Several different variables ran across his mind.

Then he knew what she was going to say.

"You aren't like them?"

She nodded, looking away. Looking smaller and younger.

_Damn language barrier._ "You have to get this, Haley. It was your fath-"

She jerked her head sideways once, baring her teeth.

"Not your father?" He asked her disbelievingly.

She shook her head, opening then shutting her mouth.

"So…you and Quil shared a mom?"

She nodded.

So Billy wasn't the only one in that relationship that had cheated on their mate. He frowned, searching her for anything that said she was lying.

Nothing.

She wasn't related to them. Not really. Which broke the family connection that had him bringing her with him.

He considered it for several long moments, trying to come up with a response but unable to articulate anything.

That was when the howl ripped through the air followed by screams.

Haley jerked around, and Collin turned in the same move just in time to see a large wolf standing at the end of the street, its head thrown back.

The humans on the street were running in his direction, away from the wolf.

_Damnit._

Haley cast him a single look before a large panther tore out of her skin and she stood in front of him.

Several other wolves, tigers, and other variations of animals came from the other streets, joining the howling wolf.

Haley let out a vicious sound, her tail twitching behind her as she stalked forward. The humans continued running, those spotting Haley panicking and trying to find their way away from the animals.

Collin stood there for about ten seconds before his fight or flight instincts finally kicked in.

_Fight._

He trailed after Haley, not completely certain but almost positive that he could handle the pack.

If he didn't focus on Haley. If he didn't try to help her.

Then Haley was running straight into the pack and the pack was turning on itself.

_What?_

"Collin, run!" Came a voice from one of the other streets followed by the distinct sound of more shapeshifters shifting.

He shot one final look into the groups of animals tearing into each other. It wasn't hard to spot Haley, the older panther fighting a tiger.

His heart sank at the sight of the tiger getting the upper hand-paw?- and knocking her flat on her back, biting straight into the panther's stomach.

"Haley!" Then he was running, because that was stupid, _stupid, stupid, stupid._

He shouldn't have spoken. He could hear paws hitting asphalt and concrete mixed in with the sounds of yowling and snarling that was quickly fading.

Except the shapeshifters. The ones that were following him.

Five from what he could tell. He didn't dare turn around. He just kept running. Running and running. As fast as he could move.

One was gaining on him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tiger. He didn't think as he threw himself onto it, sending the both of them tumbling across a road and earning more screams from bystanders. The tiger snapped at his throat, yowling and snarling.

Without a thought he dodged and went straight for the shifter's throat, biting into flesh and bone and relishing in the taste of blood. Shapeshifter blood was never as good as human but he didn't _care_.

He bit down hard and ripped out the throat, spitting it out and kicking the body off in the same moment a wolf landed on top of him.

He didn't bother trying with theatrics, grabbing the wolf by the head and twisting hard, snapping the bones.

Then he was on his feet, facing off against two wolves and a jaguar. He bared his blood covered teeth in a feral hiss which the jaguar met with its own hiss.

They were out for blood. Not his. They wanted to incapacitate him. Which meant he had an advantage.

They had no plans to kill him whereas he had every intention of murdering them all.

The sound of his phone going off in his pocket was a distant thought, one he didn't care about in that moment.

All that mattered was killing these damned shapeshifters.

The three animals stalked forward, heads low.

Then Collin launched himself at them, hitting the middle wolf with enough force that he could hear the bones crunch.

He jerked around just before the second wolf could hit him, using his small size to his advantage he dodged the attack before coming up behind the wolf and grabbing it by its tail.

It howled as he used his grip on the tail, flinging the wolf in another direction.

He was on his feet and the jaguar was staring at him fearfully, backing away with its tail tucked between its legs.

Collin didn't care. The surrender meant nothing. He threw himself forward again and landed on the jaguar, sending it flat on its back.

Without blinking he reached into the creature's chest and grabbed onto that vital organ.

A dark smile crossed his face as he grabbed onto, and pulled the heart out, listening and basking into the yowls of the shapeshifter.

He crushed the heart in one single move, throwing it to the side and rising to his feet.

He didn't spare a glance at any of the bodies, beginning his run south again.

It wasn't until his phone started ringing again ten minutes later that he remembered it had gone off.

He also was still a bit out of it, his fight instincts still in high gear and clouding his brain.

It took him a few rings to finally reach into his pocket and pull the phone out, swiping to answer and setting the phone to his ear.

"Collin?" Mary. Concern and anger leaked through her voice.

"I'm here." He stated, blinking as though it might help him regather himself.

"Oh thank God." She breathed out. "Angel said her mom was dead…that her and her pack found you and…they turned on each other. Collin, you killed her mom."

Had he? Which one had she been?

"They tried to kill me. I did what I had to."

"I know. Nahuel told me about Haley…did she…"

"Dead. When the pack turned on itself she was killed helping them. I saw it."

"I'm sorry."

There was no truth to that and he wasn't exactly mournful of it. He kind of wished for more of her story but that was it. He hadn't known her and she hadn't known him.

"You aren't. I don't care. I'll be there soon. I promise."

He hung up without another word, taking an unnecessary breath as he traveled south.

.-~**~-.

The rest of the trip south was insignificant. He ran into a couple shifter packs as he traveled south but they didn't make a move against him. He didn't try to fight them. They just bowed their heads in submission as he passed.

The trip across the ocean was dull, swimming in the right direction the most difficult part but he knew where he was going.

His arrival was interesting. As he swam ashore he was met by a small group of three vampires and two shapeshifters, all clearly uncomfortable to be working side by side. They threatened him for about ten seconds before the recognized him. The wolves bowed their heads and the vampires held their hands up.

Sighing softly, he traveled up the walkway towards the house, tired and drained. The area was filled with the scents of unfamiliar vampires and shapeshifters as well as a few humans. It was all a little surreal.

He didn't bother knocking as he pushed open the door, stepping through to hear the distinct sound of arguing in the kitchen.

"One more time and I _will_ kill you, Jer. I'm done. If you're going to act like a dog, I'm going to treat you like one. _Outside._ _Now._ " Mary's tone was exhausted and angry. Whoever she was talking to growled in response at the same time one of Brady's granddaughters came bounding into the room and tackled him in a hug.

"Collin!" He wrapped his arms around the girl a little uncomfortably as she hugged him with all her might.

"Hey, Deanna." He muttered in response, as Mary appeared in the kitchen doorway.

_Holy crap._

Collin had never seen Mary like this. Openly afraid, exhausted, drained, a million other things. Her emotions were completely readable and it _wasn't natural_.

He gently pried his niece -was she his niece? Or was it granddaughter? Whatever. Brady's granddaughter.- off him and stepped around her, meeting Mary halfway in a tight hug that was nearly crushing.

"Never leaving you like that again. Damnit. I swore I'd never let you get harmed and now…damnit."

"Stop with the emotional crap." He pulled away from her carefully, searching her expression. "You barely look like my sister. Where's the confident mother of the species I knew?"

She bared her teeth though it held no real threat. It looked like a reflex more than anything. "Do you have any clue what I've been dealing with. Well…what I was dealing with. Now that Kayden's dead it's a bit easier. Shifters have backed off. I'm basically running an all-out war because Vasilii is having every werewolf target and slaughter vampires and shapeshifters alike. I don't understand how the hell he's doing it either. Werewolves have _never_ acted like this but Vasilii has them functioning on a damn near perfect wavelength and it's _terrifying._ "

He grabbed her hands and she jerked against them, he didn't let go and she blinked several times, meeting his gaze. "There is nothing they can do to you."

"If he finishes this, he's going to destroy every species on the planet. I can _feel_ it. He won't stop at us. He'll finish off humanity. If he succeeds…me killing Ak, it would've been for nothing. I can't…it's all I had. She had to die. That was the way it was. If Vasilii wipes everything out, there's nothing left. Her death was for nothing."

He let out a pained sigh as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "We'll figure this out.


	15. Chapter 15

Collin had washed up, getting rid of his blood stained clothes and borrowed some of the spare clothes lying around though most of it didn't fit. After that they'd settled onto the couch with Mary curled into his side in a manner that might've been seen as intimate to anyone that didn't know. It wasn't intimate. It was her clinging to the physical contact, using her brother to ground her while Lila slept on the other couch with her head in Brady's lap. Daula was there, curled up in one of the armchairs with her knees to her chest, looking too tired and too old for Collin to be comfortable.

Explaining what had happened to him in those two months had been difficult. They'd all asked questions that he couldn't answer. Though he tried to hide it, Brady was disappointed that Dol hadn't asked about him. Collin couldn't begin to guess what it was like for Brady. Learning about your real mom. Learning everything about her and meeting her once. Knowing that she'd been pushed to leave him by Ak had probably given him hope. Hope that she'd truly cared about him. That if she hadn't died, maybe she would've played as another mother figure to him.

That might've been the worst part about it. That he couldn't give Brady that peace of mind. He could've lied but it wasn't fair to do it.

He offered an apologetic glance to his cousin before shifting slightly so he could look at Mary. "I need details. The details of what happened after I tuned out." She didn't answer, she just curled into him, her entire body rigid. "Mary."

"I don't want to talk about it. Tell me a story, Collin. Anything. I don't want to talk about the past two months."

He sighed softly, pulling away and earning an irritated sound.

"Mary, he deserves to hear it and we can't tell it." Daula pushed, lightly, carefully, as though Mary might snap. Which wasn't an unfair assumption.

"I just want two hours without this damned _war_ on my mind." She hissed out. "I don't get naps. I don't get to relax. I don't _want_ to do this." She jerked away and curled into the corner of the couch, "I just want a break. Why is that so difficult?" She choked out and Collin was suddenly very aware that if she could cry, she would be. He scooted closer to her, putting a hand on her back earning an irritated reaction that involved her turning away. "I'm not made for this. I'm a _kid._ A damned _kid_ that's way in over her head. I can't keep doing this. I work alone, in the background. Always have. This…this is so much worse. I'm not _built_ for this. Whatever The Ancients were thinking. Fuck them. They can go rot in the deepest darkest pits of Hell because _this_. This isn't me. This isn't who I am. I'm not a warrior. I'm a narcissistic kid with a serious power trip. I can't-"

"Mary." Mary lifted her head so that she was looking at Brady who hadn't moved, trying not to wake his mate. "I know this is difficult. I know it is. You have to hold on. You have to push through."

"Do you realize where this ends, Brady?"

He didn't miss a beat. "You snapping your son's neck. Or Ripping his head off."

Mary shuddered under him. "I killed Ak. Three times. I watched you die. I'm going to have to do it again. I watched Bella die. I killed Vasilii once. Twice if you count me turning him into a vampire. I can't do it again."

"You will do it, Mary. You will do it no matter what."

"You don't know that." She buried her face in the arm of the couch.

"I know you. I know who you were and who you are now. If Vasilii wins, what's happened will all be for nothing. You would never let your sister die in vain."

She shifted slightly under his hand, a shudder rippling across her. "He's my _son_ , Brady."

"I'm your brother, Collin's your brother, and Bella was your sister. You can't tell me for ten seconds that if we threatened your balance of the species that you wouldn't step up and kill us."

"That's me. Working alone."

"Then work alone, Mary. Let us deal with the packs and vampires."

"They're my responsibility." She retaliated reflexively.

" _They_ aren't. Maybe, if you want to take that mess on, the vampires are. The shifters aren't your responsibility."

"You're right." Mary jerked up into a sitting position. "Let's just call up Ak and- oh _wait._ I killed her." She leaned towards Brady, jerking out from under Collin's hold. If he didn't know better, he would've been worried she would attack him.

"Ak _didn't_ lead us. Never once in our history did she lead us. She may have controlled us, tapped into our minds and manipulated us or robbed us of our Essence. She didn't _lead_." Brady growled back, not hesitating. Lila jerked awake under him as he moved towards his sister.

"Brady, I'm not going to-"

"No. We are going to talk about this. We need to do it before you get yourself killed or kill someone out of frustration. You've taken the responsibility of your sister on. A responsibility that doesn't fall _on_ you."

"It-"

"Killing Ak _was_ your responsibility. No one else was capable. She left no choice. Her creatures, that doesn't fall on you. Just because you killed their mother it doesn't automatically make you responsible for them. I get it, Mary. I do. That isn't on you and you can't keep taking responsibility for it. Let us handle the shifters, you worry about the vampires."

Mary leaned back into the couch and made a pained sound. "Okay."

Brady shared a look with Lila who got up and made her way out of the room towards the bedrooms.

"You need to explain to him what's happened. Then you need to go for a walk and cloak yourself from everyone. Clear your head before you rip off our heads."

Mary glanced over at Collin who had listened to the encounter with unease but silently.

"After you… left, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't wake you up and I couldn't leave you in Colorado. I don't trust anyone and at the time, I couldn't show up on Brady's doorstep. I couldn't be around him. Doing the right thing isn't easy for me and I couldn't have the temptation to force that bond back into place was too great. So instead, I left Ak's power and took you and Emma to Forks. We stayed there for a month. During that month I found out that The Head Counsel had begun rallying vampires to go for my head, Vasilii also made his move with his werewolves. While the vampires were hunting me, werewolves were killing everything else that wasn't human. There was a panic and I knew I couldn't stay here with you anymore. As long as I was present you were in danger. I took Emma and left you a note."

"We had been staying in a small cabin near the Canadian border for a while when things completely fell apart. I would leave Emma there while I went out to hunt and get her food. It was easier to leave her than drag her around. While I was gone I was cornered by three werewolves. Vasilii isn't playing around. They struck to kill because they knew they couldn't actually kill me. Long story short. I got the upper hand on one of the cockier ones and got away. When I got back to the cabin it stank of werewolf and Emma was gone. That was when I went back to you."

While I was traveling to Forks I got a phone call from Brady telling me that shapeshifters had gone after Deanna. Angel confirmed it was her mom and her pack."

She glanced over at Brady before continuing. "I told him I'd meet up with him. I had him gather his family and told him I'd meet him here. When I got to the house there was residual shifter scent but you were alive. I figured it was just a curious shifter but I was also a bit suspicious there was something more. I didn't have the time to bring you with me. Brady was in danger and I know you hate to hear it but, he will always take priority." Collin flinched but didn't comment, knowing it was true.

"I brought you that woman, left a note, then headed south. It wasn't easy. I was being targeted by everyone. More than once I had to fight off shapeshifters and werewolves. Most of the vampires backed off when information started spreading that The Head Counsel was working with Vasilii. The shapeshifters and werewolves here are ones that helped me and Brady's family get here. They fought with us to get here. I found out when I got here that Vasilii and Kayden were done playing around and that they were going to find you instead. The problem was if I tried to cross the states again I wasn't sure I could make it back with you. You were safer if no one knew where you were."

"Except Kayden did." He pointed out.

"Bella never told me that she met Kayden in America. If I'd known that anyone who knew where your mom grew up was alive; I never would've left you there. I would have had you moved. By the time Angel heard your mom knew where to go for you, I was stuck in the middle of guiding vampires and shapeshifters to work together and I just had to hope. Hope that you'd wake up."

He looked away from her, taking a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry." She reached out and wrapped a hand around his arm.

"I know you are." Silence for a moment, "I guess I get my familial dependency from my mom." He met Daula's surprised eyes from across the room before looking at the floor. "What are we going to do, Mary? I'm running out of family here." He glanced over at the first before looking back at the floor. "What do we have to do to make sure that no one harms what we've got left?"

Silence for several moments before Mary made a pained sound, "Find Vasilii and kill him." She answered weakly. "Before he destroys the world."

Collin pushed up from his seat, walking over to Daula and offering a hand. She blinked at him, taking his hand and pulling to her feet carefully. "He said you'd be back, which means he's in Vegas. I'll fight with you, Mary. You know that. I'd die for you." He looked behind him to see Mary staring at him with a stunned expression, "I'm going to talk to my sister for a bit. I need to talk to her."

Mary nodded rigidly, hurt flashing across her expression. The action wasn't meant to hurt her and they both knew it. Daula wouldn't follow them into the battle. He needed to spend a few minutes with his sister because he very well may never have another chance at it.

.-~**~-.

They sat at the edge of the beach, staring out over the water in silence for what could've been years. It was quiet other than the silent rush of water and the occasional movement of people walking past the beach they'd settled onto. Until finally he spoke up, "Dal, I'm sorry."

She snorted and looked over at him, "For what?"

"When Mary turned me I pushed you away. You were my big sister and I just shoved you away."

"Andy didn't exactly help the situation." She pointed out, silence for several moments. No. Andy had made everything worse. "I mean, I should've known. I should've realized what he was doing."

"It isn't your fault, Dal. Mom or Edward or anyone else could've done something. Said something."

"I don't exactly think mom was great for relationship advice." A smile appeared on his face. "How did Aunt Dol react when she found out mom had been fucking the notorious Edward?"

He shook his head and pushed against her side, shaking his head. "Pretty well. But to be fair, mom was so screwed mentally that it might've been surprising if she didn't fall down that road."

"You would've loved dad, you know that Collin?"

"From what I saw of him…he was good. Good for mom. Good to you."

He didn't even realize she'd pushed the conversation away from Andy deliberately.

"Did he beat you, Dal?" Silence. He looked over to see his sister looking away, staring across the beach. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I was pregnant. I couldn't do that."

Silence. Collin leaned into his sister's side and she trembled slightly, "I'm sorry, Dal. I should've killed him a long time ago."

"You know." Her voice cracked, a sharp laugh escaping her. "I did." He pulled away from his sister and stared at her in confusion as she turned to face him. "I stabbed him in the heart and sent him out to sea."

She was smiling and…holy, "Why didn't you _tell_ me? Why the hell did you do it?"

She bit her lip and looked away, "I wasn't sure I actually did it. Not at first. After it happened I packed up and went to Brady's. I made up this bullshit story about why I was there. Then I…sort of forgot about it. I mean, I didn't _care._ He was dead and…that was that. I didn't think about it again until you mentioned killing him for me. I called him that night and… he didn't answer. I realized I'd done it. I had actually killed my husband and…I didn't _care._ I called Allie and told her I'd murdered her dad and she thanked me. Do you realize how fucked that is?"

Collin seriously considered asking if his sister thought that Andy had beat their daughter but he held his tongue. He wouldn't bring that up. Not then. Not in that situation. "Our family is so fucked up." He said instead and she laughed, a humorless sound.

"What a sorry lot we are." She responded and he leaned into her side.

"Do you remember the day you found out mom was pregnant with me?"

She shifted slightly, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "I do. Have you seen it?"

"Yes." He answered simply.

"Lila scared the ever living Hell out of mom."

He chuckled and leaned into her. "Do you have any idea how weird it is? Seeing the day your mom finds out she's pregnant with you from her own eyes?"

"I don't think I'll ever be able to understand something like that." Pause. "Was she happy when she found out she was pregnant with me?"

He paused for a moment, thinking over the memories of his family. "She was…stunned. Terrified. Mom always thought so little of herself. She was the girl with the broken mind who couldn't save her sister. She thought dad Imprinted on her until Paul convinced her otherwise. With her history with parents… she was terrified she'd screw it up. That she'd screw you up." Pause. "She didn't. She did the best she could in an impossible situation."

"I know."

Silence again. He leaned into her side and they stared out across the water.

"You don't think you'll live."

He didn't answer.

"Collin."

"I don't think Mary can kill him. When push comes to shove, she won't do it. She doesn't have the mental capacity to kill another family member."

"I couldn't do it." He glanced over at her, she looked away, "Kill Allie. Kill you. Let someone else do it. I don't understand how mom did it because I couldn't do it. What we're asking Mary to do, it isn't right."

"What're you saying, Dal?"

"Let it happen." She stated bluntly and he stared at her, "After everything our family has sacrificed. Don't make Mary sacrifice the last thing she has to tie her to her old life."

"I can't let it end."

"Why?" She asked, meeting his gaze.

"Because then what was it for?" He growled out, his words coming out harsher than intended and his eyes burning with tears he couldn't shed. "If it ends, what did Dol die for? What did mom suffer for? If Vasilii ends it all, it was all for nothing! If it ends then-"

"Then the world keeps turning." She struggled to push herself to her feet, "Collin, think about it. Just…consider it. You're asking Mary to murder her son again. It isn't right. It isn't fair. It's cruel."

Collin looked out across the water and watched the waves in silence as his sister left him to think over everything she'd said.

.-~**~-.

When Collin got back to the house Brady was passed out on the couch with one of the bloodbags on the floor next to him. Daula was in her chair asleep as well and Deanna was asleep on the other couch, curled up with Frog. He smiled fondly at the sight, happy to see his mom's favorite toy hadn't been lost over the years. He made his way through the house, listening to the sounds of people in rooms talking quietly about nothing, Nahuel and Seth were in their room, Seth's breathing calm with sleep while Nahuel spoke softly to him, promising everything would work out in the end.

Then he found who he'd been looking for. Mary was in one of the spare bedrooms, sitting on a bed with her knees to her chest and her eyes shut. She flicked them open when he stepped in, nodding to him.

"We figured it out. How we're going to do this." Her eyes shut again as she rested her forehead against her knees.

"What we're going to do, or what you're going to do?"

She shifted slightly, moving her head forward so he couldn't see her face. "After I killed him that first time, I shut down. I spent…thousands of years like this. In this single position." As if to prove her point she tightened her grip around her legs, pulling them closer to her. "For thousands of years I sat in this cave. This cave collapsed in on itself while I was there and I was buried. I didn't recognize it, or I didn't care. I just sat and remembered. I remembered Ak and Bur. I remembered anything that wasn't him. I wasn't awoken by the broken balance, I was awoken by Brady's birth. My soul brother woke me from my memories and the power in me told me what I had to do. Until that day I met Brady I was just blindly following my powers. Letting them guide me. I didn't really actually see the change either. The world. All I saw was my ignorant children and my stupid sister breaking the world apart. I probably would've slaughtered the shapeshifters after I killed her; if I'd killed her. Brady's existence changed the entire world and… I can't help but realize, Vasilii is doing the same exact thing I would've done. Slaughtering every single one of the other species'. He hasn't touched humanity, the shifters are the only ones doing it. Am I right to be killing him for what I planned on doing?"

 _Damnit._ She lifted her red eyes to meet his, hers pleading for him to tell her she's right. Could he do that? Daula's words still hung heavy on his mind. "Does it feel like the right thing?" He asked instead and she looked away, back into her knees.

"It's what my power is telling me."

He hesitated, leaning against the wall next to the door uneasily, "Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's right, but Mary. My aunt let you kill them so humanity could live. If you're wrong and he plans to wipe out the rest of the planet, her sacrifice would be in vain." Nothing was said to that and after a minute of standing there he accepted she wasn't going to speak again, "I'm sorry, Mary."

Then he left her and waited for her to tell them their next move.

.-~*~-.

It was a week later that they arrived outside of Vegas. Mary's plan was simple, very simple, and the reason behind it was because they were using unreliable soldiers. They had no clue who was waiting to turn on her. Why bother with an intricate plan involving using different groups to make the first move when in the end any single one of their allies could be enemies in disguise? No. They had a very simple plan. Collin and Mary were the only two members of the family that were going into the battle. It was easier for her to not worry about them and it was already clear that Collin could hold himself against large groups of the other species.

Mary wasn't naïve. By refusing to allow her family in she lost her guaranteed access to all of her shifters. Which meant she was forced to trust a different one. Gary was quiet when they met up, a dark haired alpha shapeshifter. His eyes were kind but it didn't change how uncomfortable the encounter was. He was alone, which was a good sign, but his loyalties were questionable. As always. They'd agreed to meet in the motel outside of Vegas where they'd met up with Alec, what felt like years ago at that point.

"Tell me what to tell them, Mer." He told them, shifting slightly on the bed.

Collin and her shared an unsure look before she spoke to him. "Tell them we move in tonight. At sunset. Kill every werewolf in sight. Don't hesitate."

"Tonight?" He asked, eyes wide.

"Yes." She told him certainly. Any longer and they would give Vasilii too much time to prepare.

"That's…two hours."

"Is that a problem?"

"No…it's just…not everyone is here yet."

"You know there are traitors, I can't give them longer to prepare."

The shapeshifter hesitated before nodding and shutting his eyes, there was a minute of silence before he spoke, his eyes opening and resting on Mary uncertainly again, "They want to… no they demand to know if you plan on showing up or if you're just going to sit around and do nothing."

"I'll be there." She swore without hesitation and after a moment of searching her Gary shut his eyes again.

"They'll fight to the death for you. You have to kill Vasilii though. You have to end it." He finally said.

This time she did pause for a moment before saying, "I know."

"You know? Or you'll do it?" The alpha shapeshifter challenged and she growled at him in response.

"I'll kill him." It didn't pass either of their notice the reluctance in her words.

"I'll make sure she does it." He heard himself saying and Mary flinched next to him.

"I'll hold you to that, Collin." The alpha promised and lay back, his eyes remaining shut.

He glanced at Mary who turned and left the room, growling quietly to herself.

Collin didn't join her. He just rested against the side of the door, shutting his eyes and waiting.

.-~*~-.

When they arrived at Vegas the battle was already in place, there were buildings on fire and corpses littered the ground.

Mary and him didn't hesitate, joining the battle and focusing on their goal. The Venetian. They knew Vasilii wouldn't be joining the main battle the same way they had no intention on being part of it for long. Their battle wasn't with the crowds of vampires, shapeshifters, and werewolves. Their battle was inside that building. Where Mary would kill her son and Collin had to make sure she did it.

A wolf, who he recognized as Gary, launched itself over his head and sank its teeth into a tiger in front of him. Mary struck like a snake, hitting werewolves and shapeshifters alike with so much force it crushed their bones on impact. Collin was dodging and launching himself after her, beside her, in front of her. While she struck for the other creatures she couldn't kill vampires. She was physically incapable.

That didn't mean she didn't incapacitate them. When one was stupid enough to go for her throat on its own she would duck down and bite them, turning them back into humans, leaving them to suffer under the bodies and bloodthirsty creatures. A werewolf managed to catch her off guard and he launched himself onto its back, reaching around its sides and shoving his hands into its ribs, ripping one out with each hand and plunging the bones into the howling creature's back. Mary kicked the werewolf off her and Collin barely managed to scramble off of it before it was flying to one of the burning buildings. The cycle was endless, bodies dropped constantly until there was a significant change. The werewolves no longer were targeting them. In fact, they were playing bodyguards. It didn't matter who had been on whose side because the werewolves were fighting everything. Everything except themselves. Everything except Collin and Mary. They cleared a pathway through the city and Mary tossed him an uneasy look as the path was cleared for them.

Past the sounds of the battle he heard her tell him to stop trying to kill them.

They walked straight through the middle of the battle as the werewolves acted as a shield, the walked straight forward until they arrived in the now destroyed building that had once been a beautiful casino.

Hanging from the entrance by ropes around their torsos were four corpses without heads. Kate, Mele, Carmen, Eleazar, and Garrett. Eleazar's body was severely decayed from however long it had been since they were last here and he was in the middle of the bodies.

"Think that's a warning?" He asked Mary uneasily.

"I think it's a warning to other vampires." She responded as they stepped through the broken doorframe, under the bodies. They walked into the building and to the elevator, stepping inside the already open doors. She didn't hesitate in typing the code in, the elevator beginning its descent.

"Mary."

"No farewells. I can't do that."

"I wasn't going to say that." He paused, "I'm sorry you have to do this."

"Sorry doesn't make it better."

"No. It doesn't." He agreed and she huffed out a weak laugh.

"We're probably going to die, Collin." Pause, "But. I'm okay with that. I've been alive for longer than I can remember. If I die. I want it to be at the hands of someone I killed."

The elevator stopped and they stepped out, Collin in front of Mary.

Vasilii stood at the very end of the room, a weak smile on his face.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mom." Collin grabbed his sister's arm as she growled lowly at Vasilii when he spoke. The first sign that this was a bad idea was that he'd stopped her.

The original werewolf held his hands out, his eyes glowing faintly with a white shine in the dark room that had once been The Head Counsel's room. It was the three of them now. Just the three of them. The rest of them were fighting and probably dying to the werewolves.

Mary snapped. They shouldn't have been talking but they were. The plan was to kill him and end it all. "Explain it to me, Vasilii. Explain why you wouldn't _tell_ me. Tell me why you would let me suffer for all this time." The fact that Mary was holding back and not going straight for the kill. The fact that she was _talking_ spoke for how bad this situation was for them. Mary didn't want to kill her son; it was very possible she wouldn't be able to. Collin also was hesitating. If this went south…it wouldn't just be on her.

Vasilii glanced between them, his hands still up. "Let me tell my story. Don't interrupt and I'll explain everything. Swear you'll be quiet until I'm done." Collin glanced at Mary who nodded once and Collin followed suit, not liking the situation. He should've stayed out in the bloodbath rather than watch this.

The werewolf took a breath before he began, "I was buried twenty feet below the surface of the earth when I woke up. Well…when it woke up." Vasilii wrapped his arms around his torso and shut his eyes. "It was terrifying. I was dead then I wasn't and I wasn't _me_. I mean I was… It was all so disorienting, and I was still so angry with you. But I couldn't think about that. I wasn't just me anymore. There was this entire other _thing_. You talked about the bloodlust and told me about what Ak could do. It was still you. You both were still you. You were just you."

"When I woke up I wasn't that lucky. I was me, I was still there, but there was this other _thing_. This entire creature crawling beneath the surface of my skin. I wasn't just me. I had little control over it and all it wanted was to kill. I couldn't. Not like the thing wanted me to. It called to me to murder and I couldn't do that, so I hid. I hid in the mountains and lived off of innocent humans and vampires alike that were stupid enough to stumble onto me. More the vampires than the humans. Sometimes I let the humans escape. I wasn't as interested in them."

"I knew if I'd left my hiding. I would've killed you. I knew I could. That I was one of two things in existence that could do it. I wouldn't do that. Not to you. No matter how angry I was. I hid. Until one night I didn't kill my human victim. It didn't kill her. Sure I'd let humans escape before but what _it_ did this night was different. That night I became the father of a species. That night I also realized something. You had your purpose, Ak had hers. What was mine? I spent a long time trying to piece together _why_. _Why_ had I been brought back? _Why_ had The Ancients done it? _What_ was the reason? There had to be answers. There were always answers. I had a very long time to piece it together."

"While you had the self-appointed job of keeping the balance. Ak had the self-appointed job of wiping out humanity. What was my purpose? I questioned that every single day for many years. Until I realized something. It wasn't a self-appointed task. It was a fact. It was who the both of you were. When you were human you did what you could to keep the tribe intact, you even killed your sister to do it. Then when Ak decided killing select humans wasn't enough you turned on her and vowed to protect the balance. Even then she was already lost to her cause. Wiping out the planet."

"Ak was _Interitus_. You were _Statera_. After I realized that, I realized mine. It was obvious. So painstakingly obvious. _Restitutio_. Ak was the destruction, you were the balance, I was restitution. I was meant to return the world to its natural way. To cleanse the world of the unnatural. It is why werewolves are the only creature in existence that can kill vampires and shapeshifters with limited effort. Why we don't have to burn the remains of a vampire or ingest the flesh to kill. It's why when we're given the choice between human flesh and unnatural flesh we will always choose the latter. We are meant to restore the world to how it was when you were human. We are meant to rid the world of the unnatural."

"I spread my werewolves out across the planet, I looked and looked and looked for you. Finding Ak was simple the first time, killing her was hard but it had to be done. I tracked her down and I killed her. I thought it was done. Except…it didn't work. She was reborn. That was when I realized that despite everything, I wasn't her family. I couldn't kill her. I needed you to kill her." Vasilii whimpered softly, "I hated it. I had to wait. You were missing. No one had seen you in a very long time. I was forced to wait. The balance began breaking and I continued waiting. I watched the world through the eyes of my creations, biding my time until the day was right. I had begun suppressing natural transformations so that my children could spread out more, interlace themselves into different locations. Those terrible slaughterhouses, vampire cities, so many places. Then one of my daughters met Ak. Rather than having her killed I waited. It wasn't the Ak I knew of yet. Ak was still hidden away in the deep recesses of that Old Soul. At the time there was no reason to have her killed. Not when they were trapped away in that city."

"Things went out of control there and I lost the Old Soul. I lost Ak. I was forced to sit back and wait again. I was getting so tired of waiting. Then, lo and behold, a little shapeshifter shows up. It had to be hers. Those eyes gave it away. Somehow I knew who it was. It was Bur. I nudged the back of my daughter's mind and reminded her of her child. The abomination she had killed. I had two reasons. One was to keep him safe for you. The other was that I assumed that Ak would come back for him. She had to, right? Except she didn't. Not for years."

"While I waited for Ak I continued having my werewolves search. You had to come out soon. There was no reason you wouldn't. You had your responsibility. I waited and waited. When Ak finally returned, I sent my daughter to strike and kill her. There was too big of a mess and she was responsible for it. Ak was prepared that time. This incarnation knew how to defend herself. I was a bit shocked but then I decided that for the time being I should leave her alive. After all, you had to kill her and Ak was pushing to destroy humanity. She made her little abominations. It was inevitable that you would show up. Which you did."

"I actually wasn't watching that night. Not until you flipped that switch in her mind. Which stunned me. You'd touched my daughter in a way only I had ever been capable of. Then I realized she wasn't just mine. She was yours as well. It was a bit disconcerting but I didn't let that deter me. The tribe was left human by Ak's selfishness and when Bur arrived I returned her to her human form to protect him for you. I have never forgotten that you loved him. As I learned later, he was your soul brother. I waited that night out and intended on having Rosalie take you down long enough for me to arrive to kill you. Except she couldn't find you. My daughter didn't see you for a while following that."

"After the night that you killed Ak you disappeared. It was bothersome because we knew you were killing humans off in droves but no one could find you. Until two years later when you showed up at my daughter's home with Bella. It was confusing because my daughter wasn't surprised at the sight of you. I'd missed something important."

"I could've had her dismember you there so I could come to kill you. You were at ease with those people. You wouldn't have suspected anything until it was too late. Except…I couldn't. I could've killed Ak a hundred times over because I didn't know her. Killing you, actually killing you, the idea was easy in theory but in reality…you looked happy. I hadn't seen you happy since you first turned me. I couldn't do it. Not when you were happy."

"So I waited again. I waited a while. I let you restore the balance. I let you live with your family. I let you all be happy. It was worth it. I watched for your visits through my daughter's eyes until the day she died. Then I watched through the eyes of more of my children, got a vague idea of what was happening with you and your family. I let you create your Head Counsel, I noticed shapeshifters in Asia starting to whisper about rebelling against you. I started making my moves again after Bella died."

"I was careful, quiet about it, I visited The Head Counsel and learned from them how much they hated you. It was easy to convince them that I could help them kill you. I didn't bother telling them the end plan. The wiping out of all the unnatural. I also infiltrated the shapeshifters in Asia. Let that shifter act like she was going to be the successor to my aunt. Then I had them kidnap you. I told them how to do it. That psychotic shapeshifter decided to torture you since she couldn't kill you. I was supposed to go to you but I was having issues in England with vampires. They wiped out a massive chunk of my werewolves. I didn't make it there before they showed up, Kayden's idea apparently."

The werewolf's eyes flicked open to look at Collin before he shut them again. "If she hadn't taken initiative I would've been able to do what needed to be done. I tried to deter them. I wouldn't have let my werewolves kill Bur. Not ever. Instead I sent them out to scare them off. Then they fought and I panicked. I knew you wouldn't ever forgive the death of Bur but I really didn't want to hold another vampire prisoner."

"Then he killed my son. I _wa_ s going to have my werewolf kill him but one of the shifters got to him first. I held back because this was your other brother. I had them take you both prisoner despite the fact that I didn't want either of them involved. By the time I made it there you had escaped."

"I was stuck. What else could I do but bide my time again? I wouldn't be able to find you again and Kayden told me to back off to protect her daughter. I couldn't just tell her that her daughter was terrified of me and would probably be happier wherever you took her so I returned to Vegas. I returned there and waited because I knew there would be enough loose ends that would lead you there."

"I'd planned on killing you when you arrived, until I learned something interesting. I heard whispers about his gift." This time when the werewolf opened his eyes he kept his gaze fixed on Collin. "Whispers from a werewolf pack about things they had no possible way of knowing. Unless they did. An Old Soul. That was my first thoughts. The Ancients. It was human child born as an Old Soul. Something that wasn't possible. Unless The Ancients had their reasons for it."

"I kidnapped her and I interrogated her. No, not like you're thinking. She was more than willing to answer my questions. Through her I learned the truth. The oldest truth in the universe. I wasn't _Restitutio_. I was _Purgo_. I was meant to cleanse the earth. I wasn't meant to restore anything. _He's_ _Restitutio_. He holds the one gift in existence that will allow us to return the power each of the first hold to its origin."

The door behind the werewolf opened a crack and Collin looked towards it just in time to see Emma step through it, her gaze glued to the floor as she joined Vasilii's side.

"They won't believe it. Not until I tell them the truth."

Collin felt Mary stiffening under his hold, prepared to launch herself, however she didn't move. He was thinking over every word Vasilii had spoken. Every word he had said rang through him to his very core. This werewolf had been there for a very long time. Playing in the background of their lives from the day Rosalie had met Dol. The idea was unsettling to say the least, he'd been watching. Biding his time until the day he could kill Mary.

He'd said Collin was restitution. It didn't make sense. None of the details made sense.

Why would Emma know something about him that they didn't? Unless…

It should've clicked with him a long time ago. Him piecing together her being Emmett hadn't been perfectly accurate. It was something he should've seen the but he'd been caught up in the appearance. It hadn't even occurred to him that the _eyes_ were the important detail. Her eyes. Her eyes were brown. Emmett's eyes had been blue.

This wasn't Emmett.

There was only one being on the face of the planet that knew more about him than he did at any given time. That girl had died _many_ years ago. There was no realistic reason that she'd have been able to be reborn. That girl wasn't from a special line of shapeshifter and had no real significant meaning to anyone. Except Collin.

"Leah."

The girl smiled weakly, "Hey, Collin."

Mary finally moved, lifting herself completely, Collin's gaze flicked over as she moved his hand from her. "You can't wipe out the unnatural, Vasilii. You can't kill us all off."

"You seem to think you have an option. I'm sorry, Red. Truly. He is _restitution_ and I am the cleanser. Either you give it up willingly or I will kill you. I can do it. I've had a lot of time to prepare for that. You can't kill me. I want to end this without your death. I want to give you everything you've wanted for millions of years. An out. Freedom. Seventy or more years of a human life."

"That can't happen, Vasilii."

"It will happen, Mary." Leah spoke softly, not letting Vasilii respond her gaze flicking between the two vampires. "Collin doesn't tell me which choice you make. Said it was a choice you have to make on your own. It will happen. Either you'll choose death or humanity." Leah stared at the ground, tears filling her eyes. "Vasilii will hand over his power and Collin will have to return to Dol's grave to get hers. He will have the power of two of the three firsts in hand when he meets me the first time. It will be so very beautiful and that will make it all the more terrifying."

Collin stayed quiet, still unsure how to accept the situation. His mind was still reeling from the information that Emma was Leah. Is Leah. Mary hadn't batted an eyelash at the information which left Collin to assume she had known for a while, why hadn't he pieced it together?

Mary stepped forward and Vasilii stepped back, grabbing Leah as he moved and pulling her so that she was half behind him. "You can't kill her, mom. She holds the truth. He visited her in her youth. The only being on the planet he could visit before their death. He told her everything we would need to know this day. You can't run from the past."

"It isn't the past." Mary growled out.

"Time is set in stone. Time is a fact. You can't change anything. No matter how much you want to." Leah looked at Collin when she said this, her eyes pleading for his acceptance. For him to agree with her. The same thing she'd been telling him from the start. Nothing could be changed. He loved her but at that moment he hated who she was standing with. The first werewolf stood there. He was threatening the life of his sister. Mary would never kill Vasilii. A choice had to be made.

"There has to be more, Leah." The words felt foreign, he knew he was talking, somewhere in the back of his mind he realized he was unconsciously dragging the conversation out.

Leah looked away, faintly Collin caught the scent of blood and he suspected she'd bitten through her tongue or cheek. "You will take the power from the three originals. That action will make both Vasilii and Mary human. After that you will travel back and meet me as well as visit each of them after their deaths and deliver the power."

"What about us?" He loved Leah. He'd fallen in love with the girl he could never have. The Imprint that never was. Their family was cursed. None of them were ever fortunate enough for things to work out. This wouldn't be any different. There was a catch and getting Leah back was going to break his heart in some form.

Leah's words were choked and Collin saw as a few tears slipped down her nose, hitting the dusty stone beneath her. "I will never keep anything from you again. Not now that you know. I will love you until the end of time. Even now, I still feel that god forsaken Imprint, and I still love you. Despite everything. There can't be an 'us'. You have to remain a vampire to transfer the powers. Once Mary is rendered human there will be nothing left that can turn you back into a human. You will be forever trapped as a vampire unless you take your own life."

Collin shut his eyes, her words hitting him like a tidal wave.

Unlike Mary who had a choice, he knew what he would end up choosing. Leah had told him. Knowing what he would eventually choose didn't stop him from thinking what would happen if he chose to refuse.

Mary would die. Vasilii came here with the intentions to kill Mary and he had already made it clear that he would if he had to. Just like Mary and Ak he had his reason for existing. He believed he was meant to destroy the unnatural.

Something about that didn't add up.

" _That action will make both Vasilii and Mary human…"_ If he took the powers, Vasilii wouldn't be able to lead his quest on wiping out the races. That was the final missing detail. Vasilii wasn't wiping out the species'. He was wiping out the originals.

"Vasilii, what happens when you become human? What happens when there's no one to enforce your 'wipe out the unnatural' plan."

"I don't need to enforce it." Vasilii replied easily, "They'll do it because it's what I have them brainwashed to do. Every werewolf you've met recently, have you noticed the change? The packs, the cooperation, I can't be everywhere at once but I can easily rewire their minds to do exactly what I need them to. Before I hand over my power I will tell them exactly what they will do. They will wipe out the vampires, they will wipe out the shapeshifters, all the hybrids and abominations. Once that's complete they will kill each other off. The last standing werewolf will find you and you will choose what to do with it. Or it'll kill itself."

"What's to stop me from making more vampires?"

"Nothing. Except the absence of the power. Once the powers from the originals are gone you won't be able to make more." Vasilii looked directly to Collin's side and Mary flinched under him. "Right, Mary?"

"I can feel it… he's right." Mary sounded…hopeful.

"No more stalling. It's time to make your choice, Red. Please make the right one."

Mary slumped and stared at the floor, "A human life. The life that was stolen from me all those years ago." Out of the corner of his eye Collin saw Mary nod. "Okay."

Now it was Collin's turn to agree. He was supposed to take the power back. Nothing he could do would change that. That didn't mean he had to agree easily. "I want to talk to Leah. Alone."

Leah froze for a moment, staring at him with uncertainty as she searched his expression. Mary shifted uncomfortably next to him and Vasilii shrugged, turning on his heels and strolling to the door Leah had come through.

"Leave them. They need to talk. I know you can't kill me again and I have no plans on killing you as long as things to smoothly. Come on." Mary swallowed audibly from next to him before trailing after her son.

Leah took a step back as Collin wasted no time stalking towards her. Her back hit the wall and it took every ounce of Collin's willpower not to grab her by her throat and pin her there. If she was a vampire, he would've done it just to prove his point. He was angry, angry and upset and a hundred other emotions. Mostly he was hurt, she'd kept it from him. They could've had a brief span of happiness.

"Why?" Leah ignored the question, staring at the ground and biting her lip. She was trembling under his stare and, with as much care as he could muster, he wrapped his hand around her wrist, putting enough pressure to make her jump and look at him. "Why, Leah?"

"You told me not to. Please." She pulled against his grip slightly, trying to get loose.

"That isn't good enough. I had to have a reason for telling you that. _Why?_ "

"I'm not you! Stop asking me for answers! Why would you tell me not to tell you! Do you have _any idea_ how much it hurt! You were so damned close and…" She pulled against his hold and this time he did let go, without a thought she launched herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing. "I wanted it. I wanted the illusion of happiness. I wanted to pretend for a while that it was all okay. I wanted to act like we could have the rest of our lives together but you told me _you couldn't know._ You told me I would never have that with you. You told me I'd be reborn and I'd hate you. And I do. I hate you so damned much because I _fucking love you._ You made me love you and now you're going to rip my heart out and stomp on it."

Collin opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out, Leah was shaking and sobbing into his shoulder. Everything she said had rendered him speechless. Why would he tell her that? Why would he tell her he couldn't know?

This.

This god forsaken conversation.

That was why he told her. He had no choice. The fucking cycle.

His next action was instinctive, because he'd be damned if he didn't give her something for the hell he put her through.

When he gently pushed her off him she protested but that protest vanished quickly when he leaned in and kissed her.

Collin had never kissed anyone, the kiss was awkward and uncoordinated and Leah took the lead. Collin refused to think about why she knew what to do when in her old life she'd been a mute completely incapable of proper communication. It didn't matter at that moment. All that mattered in that moment was making the most of the contact.

They were both in the bodies of children, things couldn't really pass the kissing, there was no comfort in that thought. Collin wasn't a child. He was so much older. For the first time in his life he wanted more than his family. He wanted everything he couldn't have. He wanted what Mary had made a point of changing him before he could have.

He hated her for it. He hated the world for what he had to do. He didn't want to leave Leah. He didn't want to let her go.

Leah was the one who broke apart from him, gasping for breath and burying her face in his shoulder. At some point he'd lifted her into his arms and she had wrapped her legs wrapped around his waist. He held her close. It was all he could do.

He was muttering apologies so quiet he wasn't sure Leah could hear him, it was all so unfair. Everything. For the first time in a long time he hated Mary for turning him. Truly hated her. He wanted to go in the other room and rip her head off just on principle.

"I'm sorry, Collin. You need to let go. You have to do this. I'm so sorry." She carefully moved out of his hold and despite everything he let her go. "I'm so sorry." She muttered again.

It wasn't her fault. It wasn't any of their faults. It was just the misfortune of their lives. That didn't stop Collin from wanting to blame Mary. If she'd never turned him he wouldn't have been here to suffer through this…

Unless he would've been.

Even if he hadn't been turned, he had been born a quarter vampire. He still had that damned piece of immortality. It didn't matter if he'd been bitten or not because unless he'd been unfortunate he would've lived to this point in time anyway.

"We need to do this." He took Leah's hand and led her towards the doorway where Mary and Vasilii had gone.

.-~*~-.

Everything following that was kind of a blur. Nothing felt real to Collin. Not really. They made their final trip to that shapeshifter encampment in Colorado. No one commented on the bodies of the dead shapeshifter pack there or the residual stink of werewolves.

It was easier than facing what Vasilii was about to do; what Collin was about to be left with.

"Collin, I'm sorry."

"No you aren't." Mary's words weren't comforting in any way, shape, or form. Leah sat on the edge of the grave that they'd dug up again. It hurt. They were a few inches from Dol's corpse and nothing. No sudden visions, strange memories, nothing. Silence. It all felt so foreign. So wrong.

Things were about to change.

Taking a deep breath, Collin dropped down into the hole, digging away the dirt over the top of her coffin.

This was so wrong. Everything about this was wrong. He was in his aunt's grave. The woman who'd sacrificed herself to protect humanity.

He was about to rob her corpse of one of the most powerful things on the planet.

Touching the edge of the coffin he shut his eyes, praying to whatever might be out there that he wouldn't have to touch her.

He would never be able to forgive himself for this.

By the grace of God or The Ancients, which part of him was become overly aware of the nonexistence of, a powerful energy touched his skin and it was as though his entire being had been plugged into the most powerful power system on the planet. His senses soared out and beyond as something flooded into his being. He could feel everything and nothing at all. He could see everything yet there was nothing to see. It was all so overwhelming. He cried out in shock, then it was gone. Just like that, it was all gone. Collin could still feel that power crawling beneath his skin, begging for him to use it, how exactly to do that he was unsure.

One of the oldest powers on the Earth. The power of Ak. That power skated along under the surface of his skin, he could _feel_ it. Being able to feel it scared him. The way it called to him to _use it_. It wanted him to _destroy._ End _everything._

Collin swallowed heavily, forcing himself to think of anything that wasn't that. Anything that wasn't that power. _Leah._ Lifting his gaze from the coffin he caught sight of Leah who was still sitting on the edge of the hole, she was watching him closely with brown eyes that he should've recognized the moment he met the real her.

Taking a breath, he launched himself out of the hole, landing behind her and shutting his eyes.

"You alright, Collin?"

"Peachy." He muttered, his eyes flickering open to rest on Mary and Vasilii who were sitting next to a tree.

"I've handed out my orders. Mary, you have to hand over your power first. It's not that I don't trust you but…" Vasilii let that trail off and Mary sighed heavily, shaking slightly before she stood up and stepped towards her brother. A hand rested on Collin's shoulder from behind and he leaned into the contact from Leah, savoring that moment.

"You don't trust me not to take advantage of your humanity. I've got it." Mary pressed her lips together as she looked Collin over, "I never wanted this for you."

"This is exactly what you wanted." He responded harshly, "You wanted a brother who would never age. A brother you could control. A brother who would never want more than you. A brother who would die for you."

Mary flinched at the bitterness of his words. She didn't bother trying to defend herself. It was true.

"I'm going to break my curse. I won't spend eternity on Earth. Maybe you won't suffer through your family's curse of no happy endings. Maybe when you take the powers out of this point it will turn you human."

A thread of hope, the last thing Collin could've ever wanted. Hope was cruel. Hope was the most destructive force in existence. It would pick up whatever it had in its grasp and beat it around until there was nothing left.

He couldn't answer her because if he did he would say something he'd regret. Swallowing uneasily, he held out his hand and Mary took it without saying another word.

Mary's power was different, it was tame and fell into him with ease. It slipped across her skin and it burned every inch of him ever so slightly. The burn didn't hurt. The burn comforted him. Just sharp enough to grab his attention without truly hurting. It glazed across his entire being and settled into his core, at that moment Collin knew it was content. It was happy with how things were. The world was balanced.

The power reflected their beliefs. It was clear now. Vasilii had been right. They had their ideals because of the power. The power had driven each of them.

Once all of the power was gone from Mary she slumped to her knees, his quick action the only thing keeping her from hitting her head on the ground as she slipped into unconsciousness.

With Mary curled into his arms Collin looked over at Vasilii who was staring at his mom with worried eyes.

Part of Collin needed to know. He had to ask. At this point it didn't matter. He needed to know the truth. "Could you have done it? Killed her?"

Vasilii smiled sadly, shaking his head, "Would you have been able to kill your mother?" Without waiting for Collin's answer of 'Never', the werewolf pushed himself to his feet in one singular movement and stepped forward into Collin and touched his arm.

The power rushed in from Vasilii and Collin's entire body went rigid as _something_ infiltrated him. Something dark and cruel and knowing.

Collin understood what Rosalie and Vasilii had meant by an entire other being existing. Another creature in the dark corners of their minds. For Rosalie it had been simple, she'd only had to deal with it during the full moon. This was different. Vasilii had mentioned it standing there in his mind, telling him to kill, to destroy.

The hand on his shoulder tightened its grip and he let out a shaky breath as he blinked rapidly, forcing that mentality back. It wasn't interested in the beings surrounding him. Not really. They were human. All of them.

When Collin was capable of focusing on his surroundings again he looked down at the ground where Vasilii had slumped down to his knees and shut his eyes.

"The cabins." Leah's voice filled his ears and without a thought he rose to his feet, holding Mary delicately and making his way back towards the camp. He heard the scurrying feet of Leah and the slower movements of Vasilii. Once they were at the core part of the camp Collin carried Mary into the cave where his mother had been nursed back to health all those years ago. Despite their abandonment of the camp years ago no one had lived in the cave since Rosalie. The limited furniture was dusty and the beds were unkept.

That didn't matter.

Collin set Mary down into the old bed and she curled in on herself, never waking, her heart pounding loudly for him to hear.

When Collin turned around Leah was waiting at the entrance, Vasilii making his way into the room to lay down next to Mary. Collin didn't stop him. He was focused on Leah. The girl he loved.

It wasn't fair. None of it was. She smiled sadly at him and pushed out of the entrance, Collin trailed after her without a thought.


	17. Chapter 17

The two of them sat in front of the bonfire, staring into the burnt out logs quietly. There was only one shapeshifter corpse in this area and Collin had moved it away when they'd arrived there. It was lethally silent there. Collin knew what was coming, what he'd have to do. Those powers were bubbling beneath the surface of him, calling out with their own causes. Collin was almost certain that the shapeshifter power was trying to destroy him from the inside.

Anything was better than letting himself dwell on that, with unease in his words he spoke quietly, breaking the silence of the forest.

"You're really Leah?"

She snorted, a grin crossing her face as she turned on her log so she was facing him. Collin followed the action by turning on his own log and staring into those brown eyes, memorizing every tiny detail he could. "You're asking me that after the make out session in Vegas? I was posing as Emmett, Collin. I don't know much about your family but I know enough about Bella to expect that Rosalie was probably an aunt to you. Which says all sorts of fucked up things about-"

"That isn't what I meant!" Collin defended earning a laugh from Leah. "I just meant…I needed to be certain."

Her laughter died down, a smile never leaving her face as she took one of his hands and squeezed it. "I know what you meant, Collin. I swear that I am Leah. From now until forever I will be yours." She looked down, staring at their hands for a moment. "I don't ever want to let you go. I have to but I don't want to."

"I could-"

"No. Don't offer that." Leah trembled slightly and Collin regretted mentioning it, no matter how bad he wanted to never let her go it was cruel to ask. He had no right to. "If you do…I don't know if I can say no…even if I don't want to."

So Collin didn't offer to turn her into a vampire or any of the other species currently riding around under his skin. Instead he just talked. They talked. About everything and nothing at all. He told her stories about his early childhood, talked about Daula and in return she told him stories about her life with Emmett. They sat for a while like that, just talking.

While they talked Collin did something that his family could hate him for at a later date. If he came back from this in-tact.

His infiltration of both Dol and Ak's memories had given him a vague understanding of the functionality of the power he was now holding. It wasn't hard for him to reach out and rip away the Essence of each animal Brady, Lila, and all of the other members of their bloodline. Daula's humanity made things a lot easier. While he was ripping away Lila's essence he noted that Ayla was still with them. The poor girl had been kidnapped by Mary, the least he could do was let her survive the destruction that was to come, so he pulled her Essence as well.

All of these actions were done in the back of his mind. Leah probably didn't even notice he was focusing part of his attention on those actions.

 _Nahuel_. Part of his mind whispered to him.

Collin couldn't save everyone. As much as his mom had adored Nahuel and despite how much he'd helped them Collin couldn't waste time going all the way to the island to save him. Not with those powers boiling beneath the surface and trying to get him to do different things. Pushing at him with each of their own individual intentions.

"Collin." He blinked, at some point during their conversation Leah had climbed into his lap and he was holding her against his chest. "It has to happen."

"After I travel into the memories, I want you to do something for me, Leah."

"What do you need?" She asked, leaning back so she could meet his eyes.

"Call Brady after I've tuned out and have him come get you. If I'm in the memories long enough…"

"It might be a long time before you wake up." She finished.

Nodding, he continued his explanation, "This place isn't stocked well for humans or ex-humans alone. It's made for shapeshifters and humans. There should be enough phone reception out here that you can call him and have him come get you all. When I'm back…I'll come find you."

That was a lie and the hurt in her expression told him he'd failed at pretending otherwise. It wasn't fair for him to stay by her side. Not when he was trapped forever in the body of a child. If she moved on…it was possible that she could live a mostly normal human life.

It was all he could hope for her to have.

Honestly, Collin had expected a protest from her. He'd expected her to call him out on his bullshit.

What he had expected was her hands going onto his chest and shoving him back.

Collin was a vampire; he was the most solid material in existence. Except at that moment he was carrying around the powers of the first vampire, werewolf, and shapeshifter.

It made him a bit more pliable, which he hadn't known, until he was falling back off the log and landing on the ground with a light thud.

None of it hurt, the werewolf power was a bit annoyed. That second mentality growled and clawed and tore at his mind, trying to take over. The power of Ak just continued its relentless tearing at him, trying to escape, then, just as he was, Mary's power was a bit baffled.

Leah glared down at him, having barely caught herself from tumbling on top of him. "If you think you can just abandon me, Collin! Have you been listening to a single damned word I've said! You can't just get rid of me! That isn't how this works! I fucking _love_ you! No. We can't ever be a thing because your cursed to be your mother's child. That doesn't mean you can just _abandon me_. From now until forever, I am yours. You _aren't_ going to abandon me. When you wake up you will find me or I will _rip apart_ the planet until I find _you_." Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she threatened him.

Collin blinked, staring up at Leah with a bit of awe. Collin hadn't expected that. Not from her. Even with her being human, she still showed the vague signs. That actions from any other being on the planet was easy to expect. For her to do it… by all technicalities, he was her Imprintee. From what he knew Imprinters would never lay a hand on their Imprintee like that. Granted she couldn't actually harm him but it was the concept. The action had its meaning.

"Okay." One word. That was all he could muster. That word with all the emotion he could bring forward and push into it. Despite his better judgement, he would do it, he would go back to her when he woke up. Not because it was the right thing to do. It was the last thing he should've done. They would both be tortured by what they wanted and could never have.

Leah searched his expression for what seemed like years before she offered her hand to him, he took it despite the fact he didn't need to and let her pull him to his feet.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head at her words, not speaking as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, savoring the moment for a moment.

"If I don't do it now I never will."

"I know." She muttered softly and let go. "Mary has a phone, right?" He nodded and she looked down at the ground for a long moment before lifting her head and meeting his eyes. "Remember everything I've told you. The things you have to tell me."

Something told him it didn't matter if he remembered those things or not. He'd said and done a lot of things in those memories out of impulse, things that had triggered events in the memories without him realizing he was doing it. Things he had to do.

"I love you." He muttered softly.

"From now until forever." She said softly before turning away from him.

What he did next was hard. The most difficult thing he had done in a very long time.

He sat down on that log and shut his eyes. Knowing what was coming made it all worse. The last time he'd spent an expansive time in a memory he'd been checked out for two months. Now he was going to spend God knows how long going on some epic journey to turn the powers over to the young versions of Ak, Mary, and Vasilii. He knew Leah would meet him here and that fact made it all worse.

.-~**~-.

When he allowed his ability to suck him into a memory he hadn't known what to expect. Not really. It could've been any of the potential memories. Any memory at all. Just because he was supposed to be delivering the powers didn't necessarily mean that would happen.

When his eyes flicked open he was in an unfamiliar scene.

A moving memory.

They were in a forest; it was significantly different than the forests Collin was used to. The grounds were greener, the moon almost seemed larger. That wasn't what he focused on.

A young boy no older than four with deep brown eyes was lying on the ground limp and unconscious with blood gushing from the side of his head. A girl about the age of sixteen was standing next to him with a bloody rock discarded to the side. She had a spear about half the length of her body in her left hand pointed straight at the unconscious boy's heart, resting against the skin.

Mer stood less than three feet away, frozen in fear. This was Mer. The girl she was before any of them knew her. The first vampire. Mer was looking between the girl that was no doubt Ak and Bur. They looked like each other. The oldest family in the world.

They didn't speak.

No words were spoken between them.

Somehow that made it worse.

Ak flicked her wrist, motioning to Mer, then flicked it to her son, her grip tightening visibly on the spear.

Mer made a strangled sound, motioning the symbol for family between herself and Ak. Her eyes were filled with a thousand different unshielded unnamable emotions.

Ak made a sound that was almost a laugh before she repeated the motion, jerking her hand across the place where the circle had been before stabbing downward with the spear.

Collin cried out in shock in the same moment Mer let out an unearthly shriek, launching herself through the air and landing next to Bur, baring her sharp teeth at the shapeshifter.

Ak smiled cruelly before she vanished. Collin didn't think before he acted, kneeling next to Bur and touching his arm, feeding a tiny sliver of the shapeshifter power into him. The faintest piece. The boy might've cried, he might've screamed, a spear through the heart couldn't have _not_ hurt. Not in the least.

However, Bur was silent, shaking, his eyes fluttering open to meet Mary's as she pulled him into her arms. That shapeshifter power wasn't enough to save him. Just dull the pain and…

"Bur." She croaked out, cradling the young boy against her chest.

"Mer." He choked out, his words gurgling a bit around a mouthful of blood that he struggled to spit out.

That power would be what was used to bring Bur back as Brady in the future. It had to be. That had to be why he was here.

He was on the track then. He didn't want to be. None of this was fair or right. He wanted to stop but knew he couldn't.

Mary held him close and searched his expression, clearly whatever she found there broke her a bit because she deflated, holding him and watching as Bur choked on blood until finally he ceased all movement.

"This isn't the end. Mer, I swear to you that it isn't over. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Avenge his death. Kill Ak. For you, Bur. One day you will need to know this. The power that fuels your mom is pure raw energy. That raw energy will give her a lot of power. It will let her nearly wipe out the planet. When you're reborn, do anything you can to protect her." Another thing he did without realizing he was doing it or why. He was feeding them information. Information that they wouldn't have otherwise. He remembered clearly when Bur had explained that power to him.

"… _What your mother didn't know, for good reason, was when she bound herself to Dol's essence, what she did was bind herself to every incarnation of her. Dol didn't have an animal soul running through her as other shapeshifters do. The power that fueled her transformation was something else entirely. It was raw energy. That raw energy is the same energy that allowed her to steal every animal on the planet from every shapeshifter…"_

At the time he'd explained it he'd had no idea why and now Collin knew the truth. He'd told him.

Mer made a small sound as she gently closed his eyelids, holding him to her chest and crying without any tears. Collin knew Mer killed Ak for this, he'd always thought it was an immediate thing but based off what he was seeing now, it wasn't.

It also made so much more sense as to why her killing Ak after this hadn't worked. At the time, the sisters hadn't seen each other as family. There had been fresh wounds, they wouldn't be able to truly kill each other at this moment. In this span of time, the girls were truly immortal.

Collin had to leave now. He couldn't do this. He couldn't watch his sister be destroyed by the death of Bur.

 _Except this isn't the end._ When Mary had told the stories she had never mentioned Vasilii.

He would have to see that memory too. Watch his sister murder her son.

Clenching his hand into a fist he watched as she mourned the loss of Bur until finally the memory melted away and he was in a new room.

This place was familiar. Vividly familiar. Vividly familiar because he'd been here recently. In the last year. Taking a breath, he knelt next to the cage that held Leah's dead body. The room was in panic and Zafrina had already escaped. Collin touched Leah's arm and allowed the smallest fragment of Ak's power he could muster to slip into her, knowing this was what he had to do to make sure she was reborn. He didn't question it because, despite everything, it was what he wanted. He had to meet Leah. It wasn't a question, he had to do it. He wanted to do it.

"I love you, Leah. From now until forever." The words were whispered softly and for a brief moment Collin felt a brush of something he could only describe as _Leah_ before the scene melted away again.

This time he was in the middle of a field of golden grass, he was very alone and at first he was conflicted. Why would he be alone? It didn't…

Until it did make sense.

" _I was buried twenty feet below the surface of the earth when I woke up…"_ Vasilii's words rang through his head and he took a breath, looking down at the ground beneath his feet to see that it had been disturbed. This was where Mary had buried him.

Collin knelt to the ground, touching the disturbed earth and feeling at the power beneath his skin. The werewolf one was there, at the front, prepared to join up with its new host.

After a short internal struggle of whether he should do this or not, whether he could do it, he allowed that power to flow out of him and into the ground, down into Vasilii.

The change in the earth was almost instantaneous, even from twenty feet below the ground shifted beneath Collin as something _pushed_. That wasn't the only thing that happened.

Once the power left him, Collin felt lighter, more awake, and yet, the lack of the power left him feeling drained on a completely different level. It was confusing and complicated and it left him worried. Worried for the first time about _what_ this would do to him.

The ground beneath him shifted again and out of instinct Collin stepped back, watching as something pushed and fought from beneath the ground. Collin could almost _feel_ the power in the first werewolf crying out in victory as it was unleashed. Collin stood back and watched the slow process until finally a furry hand emerged from the ground.

It would've almost been comical, something out of a cheesy movie. Except Collin knew better. Collin knew what it was. This was the creature that would wipe out all of the unnatural.

Finally, after what seemed like decades, it surfaced. The creature shook its fur out and threw its head back in a victorious howl. It was free.

"Vasilii, as with your mother and aunt, you can only die to family. Only family can kill you. Only those you see as family can kill you. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. Nothing can change that." The beast paused in his howling for a brief moment and in that brief moment the terrible sound of breaking bones filled the air.

Collin intended on watching the scene unfold, to watch Vasilii transform, however the scene melted away and he stumbled onto a smaller scene. The next memories passed with discomfort and no real understanding. Different points in different lives. He was forced to visit some of Ak's incarnations and said things he wasn't completely sure the relevance of.

Though he hated to admit it he wasn't surprised to find out some of Ak's darker incarnations. Apparently Ak hadn't only been incarnated as women, she'd had her fair share of male incarnations. Historical events Collin wouldn't have ever wanted to see firsthand passed and he buried those memories to the best of his abilities as quickly as he could. The only good thing about these memories was the fact that he was hinting subtle concepts. Things he knew from his limited history lessons that had led some of these terrible people to their deaths. Others he suspected had the same results.

After a while of visiting those memories he slumped to the ground of a new memory, one of a place he recognized. This was taking a toll on him. He could feel his powers protesting against it. He'd been exploring memories for too long. It wasn't hitting him painfully yet but Collin knew it was a matter of time until it happened.

This time he was in a very familiar room. A room he recognized from his mother and Leah's memories.

Part of him had wished this would be the last memory. That this would be his farewell. Of course he never got what he wanted, why would that change now?

His gaze skimmed across Emmett's room until he saw the ten-year-old Leah sitting on the foot of the bed gawking at him with confusion.

The second their eyes met Collin went rigid, his entire being protesting against what he was experiencing. It was _wrong_. The Imprint that had been missing since the moment he'd met her connected and Collin let out a startled cry of shock as a warmth flooded all of his memories of Leah. Everything…it all made sense in that moment, the draw, the longing, the idiotic crush that had turned to love.

It made it all hurt so much more. The girl climbed off her bed and inched towards him, tilting her head and eying him with such innocent curious eyes that he just wanted to hold her and never let her go. Her fate was tragic, unfair, she didn't deserve what would happen.

"Leah?" He breathed her name and she blinked, smiling at him and offering her hand.

Then he was flooded with her words. Words she could never speak. _It's just like they said. It's so great and amazing and I can't even ask his name._

"I can hear you, Leah. Talk to me."

She blinked, staring at him dumbfounded for a moment before she made an excited sound and launched herself into his arms, Collin barely had a moment to think before she was wrapped around him and giggling. _I Imprinted. I've Imprinted. Emmett said maybe I'd be lucky one day and here I am! I've got my Imprint; and he can hear me! No one can hear me. Did you know that, Imprint?_

Collin's heart broke in that one terrible moment.

He was going to have to break her heart.

He was going to have to tell her the terrible truth that she was dead and had been dead for a very long time.

"Leah-"

_What's your name! I need to know. I've gotta know my Imprint's name._

He felt tears burning in his eyes as he whispered, "Collin. My name's Collin."

 _Don't be sad, Imprint. Everything will be okay._ Her words were so comforting and he held her closer, shaking slightly as he tried to keep from breaking down. He would stay strong. He would do this.

"Leah, we've got to talk and you've got to listen. You won't like what I say but you have to listen."

The girl pulled out of his arms, smiling broadly at him. _Anything you want, Collin. Let's sit on the bed. Emmett got me a real comfy bed._

Nodding he allowed her to pull him to his feet and lead him to the bed, she laid down on it and stared at the ceiling. Uneasily he joined her side, not protesting when she took his hand and squeezed it.

"Listen closely to everything I say. You won't like it. Not in the least, it's the truth and I am so sorry."

 _Don't be sorry._ She told him very seriously and he might've smiled if it wasn't for the situation.

"First I have to explain something important. No one else will know I'm here. No one else can see me. Only you can."

 _Like, Nes's mom?_ She didn't sound worried so Collin suspected they'd changed the truth a bit for her.

Collin flinched, realizing he'd worded that poorly. Leah wasn't like Renesmee. She wasn't like his mom. She was sane.

"No. I'm…I'm from the future." Collin hated saying that, it sounded so damned corny and stupid. "I only exist on a certain plane of existence and…" God she was only ten. Real ten. Even if she was a shapeshifter it was obvious by her behavior she was only as old as she looked. Maybe mentally stunted by the situation. "Your mind exists on that plane. It's why no one else can hear you."

Leah stayed quiet, listening to him and Collin could almost _feel_ her trying to piece it together. To understand.

"After this conversation, I have to go and it'll be a while before you see me again. I promise you that you will see me again. But I'll have to leave."

 _But you can't go!_ Leah jerked up in her seat, staring down at him in fear, _You're my Imprint! I have to protect you!_

Her hand tightened on him and he closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the emotions flooding the girl's expression. "You will. Leah, you will do that and so much more. I promise that as long as you live I'll be safe."

When she laid back down she curled into his side, laying her head on his shoulder. _You're mine._

"I'm yours. I will always be yours." He flicked his eyes open and tilted his head to see her staring at him.

_How long will you stay?_

"I don't know." He admitted, not wanting to ever leave her side again.

_You said you needed to tell me somethin'. Was that it?_

No. There was so much more. So much he had to say and so little he wanted to say of it. "There's more." He admitted finally, "The first time I meet you will be the day you die. Every single time you see me from now until then will be after I've met you but the first time I meet you will be the day you die."

_But-_

"I know. I know that it's confusing. I wish I could explain it but I really don't understand it. Just…"

 _Okay._ The girl finally said, not sounding happy about it.

"After you die. You will be reborn. It will be a long while but you will be reborn. When you are, you won't wake up as you until after we meet. When this day comes. No matter how much you'll want to. No matter how much I push for it, you _cannot_ tell me who you are. I'll threaten your life and I'll try to kill you. That doesn't change the fact that you _can't_ tell me who you are. I _cannot_ know. You can tell others but I _can't_ know. Nobody can tell me. Not until we are in Vegas together"

 _Why?_ The question gnawed at him and he had to think for a moment as he tried to figure out the answer.

Collin took a shaky breath, closing his eyes as she nuzzled closer to him. "If I know I won't be able to let you go when it's time." He told her, rather than explaining the cycle. When she didn't respond he returned to the story, "After a while you'll be kidnapped by a werewolf. He'll ask you a lot of questions, I don't know what they are, but you have to be completely honest with him. Tell him everything. You will stay with him until a day in Vegas. I don't know what you're doing before it but when you finally join us you explain this to us. I realize who you are and you explain everything. You can feel the power radiating in me now, right?" She nodded against him and he let a breath out, "We will be in that room with two of the originals of the species. They will be discussing giving their power over to me. Vasilii, the werewolf will give it over willingly. Mary has to make the choice on her own. I'll have to rob my aunt's grave that day of the power of the first shapeshifter. I will take the power from each of them and it will make both Vasilii and Mary human. Then I will visit each of their deaths and deliver the power there. I've already delivered Vasilii's."

She made a pained sound and he wasn't ready to tell her the next part. He had to but he didn't want to. "I'll be trapped in a vampire body following this. I had to stay a vampire to do this. The only way I'll be able to die is if I kill myself. I'll never be able to be yours in the way we'll want because I'll be forever trapped in this body."

Leah was too young to have a full grasp on what that meant, what they would both want and the reason why she couldn't join him as a vampire. Collin could tell at this moment Leah hadn't developed her loathing of vampires. Kachiri hadn't destroyed her yet. _It doesn't make sense._ She finally admitted, her silent words a whisper.

"It will. When you're older you'll understand." He didn't tell her about the Imprint. He didn't tell her to not tell him about it. He wished he'd known the truth from the start. Obviously Leah made that choice on her own. Which he was grateful for. It was something in this god forsaken situation that was good.

_If you're from the future. Can't you change things? Can't you make things not happen?_

Collin grimaced, understanding dawning on him. It was his own words she would spend the rest of her life convincing him of. "I can't change anything. No matter how much I wish I could. I can't change anything."

They laid there together for a while, mostly silent, occasionally he would tell her something she had to know that he'd missed in his story but for the most part he'd covered everything. Finally, he felt the change and knew it was time. "I have to go, Leah. I'm sorry."

 _You can't…_ She protested, tightening her hold on him. He looked down at her pleading eyes and wanted to give her the world in that moment. Instead he settled for pulling her closer and kissing her.

This kiss was just as awkward as the first but for a different reason. Leah had no experience. He was the experienced one, however limited that was. He used what Leah had done in Vegas as a basis for the kiss and quickly realized that she'd learned to kiss from this. That information put him to ease, she hadn't been violated in some terrible way. The kiss was wrong in more ways than one. He was well aware of it. When taking the true age gap into account it really crossed a line. In that brief moment he didn't care. It was a single kiss. Possibly one of their only kisses.

When they separated she smiled sleepily at him and he pressed another single kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Leah. From now until forever I will be yours."

The scene melted away before she could respond. Collin landed in a different forest this time, it was overgrown more than Collin had ever seen anything and so very green. He felt that sharp jerking in him and buried the agonized cry of pain that tried to escape him. He wouldn't break down. He had to sit through this. He had to witness this. A memory he never once had experienced and hadn't ever wanted to experience. He was there now. He'd be damned if he missed it. No matter how much it would hurt.

A bit off into the trees Collin saw the faint outline of one of those old huts that he'd seen in Mary's memory. There was even the faintest light of fire. That wasn't the important thing. A young girl about the same age as Mer stumbled out of the trees. She was a younger version of the girl he'd seen when Bur was killed. _Ak._ The girl was wearing nothing and dragging a body with her, when Collin moved closer he understood what had happened. The man was covered in blood and had a small jagged -what had to be their form of- dagger, a sharp stone bound tightly to a piece of wood with a vine, protruding from the side of his neck along with several wounds in his chest from where she had no doubt stabbed him many times. His eyes were open and vacant.

Ak had murdered him. She was covered in his blood and a dark look was in her eyes, something Collin could only call evil.

Collin swallowed as he watched her drag the man away from the encampment, he imagined it was probably to leave him for an animal.

As Ak struggled to drag the body through the overgrowth another girl he recognized instantly came pushing through the branches. This one was fully clothed in animal skin dress type thing with a single one of those daggers tied into the waist of it.

"Ak!" The girl cried in shock, doubling back at the sight before her. From Mary's stories of this event he was a bit conflicted by that. She'd said she'd known. But Mer was acting clueless. Like she didn't know.

The blood covered sister dropped the man, turning around so that she was facing her sister. Ak reached down with her left hand and ripped the blade from the man's neck, her gaze never leaving her sister. Mer took a step back, staring at her sister with fear.

In that moment Collin realized why Mary had lied. It was to make her sister seem like a better person. Mary had always said she'd tried to convince Ak that she was wrong. Had always said it was partially her fault.

That wasn't the truth. Mer hadn't known. Mer hadn't had a clue what was happening. Hadn't had a chance to try to help. She'd gone into this night blind and suffered the consequences.

Behind the dark look in Ak's eyes Collin saw something else. Guilt. If there'd been a word to describe it, the word would've been guilt.

Ak held the knife up, blade in her hand. Offering the hilt to the other girl. Mer's gaze flicked between her sister and the corpse. The fear was still there. Fear and a hundred other things Collin would never be able to pinpoint. Ak used her free hand to symbolize family, trying to get her meaning across. Collin understood. Collin knew what she wanted. His more advanced mind allowed him to understand what was happening. This was Ak's way of saying, "sister, join me."

The problem wasn't that the meaning was bypassing Mer's notice. The problem was Mer wouldn't do that. Collin knew Mary well enough to know Mer wouldn't take part in killing her tribe members.

Mer took a single step back and her hand slowly moved toward the blade on her waist, in that moment Ak let out an enraged cry and threw the blade she had in hand.

Collin wasn't sure if knife throwing had existed in the time they lived but that was exactly what Ak had done. She'd thrown the dagger from the blade so that it landed in her sister's right shoulder. The second the blade left her hand she'd begun running towards where her sister was falling back onto the ground by the shock of the dagger landing in her shoulder.

Mary screamed and fought her clothing to get her dagger, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled against the pain. The adrenaline kicking in probably being the only reason she wasn't completely out of it.

Collin didn't see it happen. Not exactly. He watched as Ak threw herself on top of her sister and missed. Instead of catching herself like Collin knew she'd planned she'd face planted straight onto Mer.

Ak made a choked sound and Collin knew without a doubt where Mer's blade had ended up, even before he moved to their sides to see Ak struggling to sit up. Despite the fact that Mer's blade was protruding from her stomach, Ak made sure she finished her job. She took that same blade, grabbing and pulling it from her own stomach.

"Ak…" Mer managed in the same moment Ak shoved that blade into her sister's neck. She slumped down on top of Mer after that, tears falling down her face as she bled out. Collin watched them, waiting.

Collin now knew the truth. Mary had lied about the events that had led to their first death.

Mary had defended Ak by lying about it. Something told him that he would've done the same for her. He knew without a doubt Bella would've done it for Dol.

It was terrible. Watching Ak bleed out. Despite what had just transpired, Ak hadn't done it out of cruelty, not really. She'd tried to get her sister to join her. Mer had been the first to go for her weapon. But Ak had made a point of killing her. Made sure that her sister died for killing her.

When Ak finally died Collin could tell because the shapeshifter power began fighting him again. This time, rather than trying to tear him apart from inside, it was trying to break free from him. Trying to join Ak.

He knelt down next to the girls and touched his aunt's shoulder, letting that power leave him in one movement. Ak jerked and rolled off the top of Mer, gasping and choking once the power went to work healing her and returning her to life.

He sat next to his sister for a long moment, the feeling of Ak's power being gone was unsettling. It was freeing and yet… something he couldn't quite place felt off.

Finally, he touched his sister and shut his eyes, pushing the power into her with a bit of effort.

Then he was free, the powers were gone, all of them gone.

It was then he understood.

Without those powers he was draining completely on himself. All of the weight of exploring those memories was on him.

He gritted his teeth and watched as Mer's eyes snapped open, blood red as they always were.

He didn't have much time.

Fighting himself, he forced the words out. "Mer, Ak, you are the first of your kinds. You will be the two most powerful beings on the planet. Two beings that can only be killed by those that are their family. One of these days, one of you will kill the other. You will be forced to kill each other." He said the words and watched for a bit longer as Ak convulsed on the ground until she relaxed.

Collin knew what would happen the moment Mer jumped up, her head snapping towards their village. This wasn't something she'd ever told them. It was easy to suspect and Collin couldn't and wouldn't stay to see it happen, instead he allowed himself to sink back into reality.

That was what he tried to do.

However, the second the scene around him began to melt away he felt something was wrong. Very wrong.

Something deep inside him told him what was happening, even then he didn't want to believe it.

He couldn't die.

Not when he'd told Leah he would come back for her.

He panicked as something began dragging him down. Pulling and yanking at him.

No. He couldn't die. Not like this. Not yet.

He cried out as something changed and he was submerged.


	18. Chapter 18

Leah was born in a slaughterhouse. At that time, she'd had no one. No real family, nothing. She was a number in a line. All she'd been was one of many shapeshifters waiting for whatever terrible fate came to those shapeshifters that were taken.

When Emmett had arrived and bought her she hadn't expected anything good from the large vampire. Not in the least. She'd followed him out without question and kept her head down. It wasn't like she could truly communicate anyway.

It had been implied more than once by the vampires that she'd be put with a vampire who didn't need her voice. That she'd be used for the worst of things.

Emmett hadn't been like that. He'd been a great man, someone she would gladly refer to as her father. Up until the day Kachiri demanded he give her to her.

Leah would never blame any of what happened to her on Emmett because none of it was his fault. Not really. Kachiri took what she wanted and if she didn't get her way, people got hurt.

Then there was her Imprintee. The boy she met again and again. Not nearly as often as she wished. It was his presence that held her together over the years. People like Renesmee weren't ever as lucky. Anything that wasn't a vampire almost always broke in its own way, shape, or form. Stockholm, depression, insanity, there were endless things that happened to the different beings held by the vampires.

Leah hadn't succumbed to any of those things. Leah had always had someone to hold onto, someone to wait for. Even when she knew nothing could ever work between them. It was all she could do to wait to see her Imprintee. It broke her heart that they were so far and few between.

Then she died and saw him one final time. Only briefly but it had been long enough to know. For her it was years in the making but for him it was the end. She knew what it meant when she saw him appear after her death, she hadn't quite moved on yet. In that brief moment that she saw the world around her, her attention wasn't on the people panicking because of her death. Her attention was on Collin as he materialized out of nothing. As he knelt down by her corpse and spoke softly. The words rang through her as she felt something flood her. Something old and powerful. Something that made her feel lighter than air and like nothing at all.

She was being pulled away, in the last moment she rested her hand on his shoulder, tears filling her eyes as she was pulled into darkness.

That was then.

A long time ago. A lifetime ago.

Now she'd been reborn. If she tried hard enough she could remember the shadowy faces of her parents from her new life. The people that had been killed by a bear. They were foggy memories, people she tried not to think about. The wolf pack may have raised her. They weren't her family either. They'd been selfish in raising her new incarnation as an animal rather than returning her to society.

Of course there wasn't a single time she'd hate them for it because she'd found Collin.

That brief time with Collin had been everything she'd wanted since her childhood, even if she hadn't been able to tell him who she was, she'd been able to spend time with him and it was everything. Even if he hadn't known who she was, it had been him, the boy she'd fallen for all those years ago. Everything that could never be. For that brief time she'd gotten to be around him, even if she couldn't be with him. She could be near him.

Knowing your future made everything worse. All of it worse. A selfish part of her wished Collin had never met her. If he'd never met her she could've lived a semi normal life. If he'd never met her she never would've fallen in love. Her heart never would've been broken by him.

When Collin had been pulled into his memories Leah had been able to tell by looking at him. That had been a long time ago too. Not nearly as long as her first life but long enough.

She'd gone through the motions and called Brady who'd informed her of his family's new status as humans. While she'd waited for Brady she'd alternated between sitting with Mary and Vasilii and sitting by Collin's side.

Mary had slept the entire time they were there. Leah knew basically nothing about how to help her so she was forced to call Nahuel. Nahuel had told her that without the proper equipment there was nothing that could be done until she woke up. She'd warned him that he was going to die then hung up, not bothering to explain the details.

Mary hadn't woken up. Not for a while. It had taken Brady three days to make his way to them and when he'd shown up the way he'd looked at Mary had broken her heart. An Imprint almost as impossible as hers.

Leah had refused to leave Collin in the middle of the woods. She'd demanded Brady let them take him to one of the abandoned cities. Leave him there until he woke up.

The argument had been short, she was pretty sure he didn't have the energy for it. Brady had struggled to carry the statue of his cousin to the SUV and had set him in the very back. When Leah had joined in him the passenger seat she'd peeked in the back to see Mary sleeping in the middle seat with Vasilii under her, her head resting against his leg. Vasilii didn't speak a word until a month and a half later when Mary woke.

They'd left Collin in one of the close abandoned towns, setting him in one of the houses there because it was all they could do. When he woke it would be too dangerous to have him in the house. Not with all of the humans.

Leah had joined Brady in returning to their home in California. Leah had claimed the den as her bedroom and Vasilii had claimed the guest bedroom for himself and Mary. Leah didn't talk to anyone, not really. There wasn't much for her to say. She was waiting for Collin. Waiting for him to wake up.

It wasn't until two weeks after Mary had woken that anyone had pushed her into conversation. It had been Daula. Leah was grateful it was Daula. Daula didn't push conversation about what she planned on doing. Daula just told her stories. Stories of her daughter, of when her and Collin were children. Daula talked about how excited she'd been when she'd learned her mom was pregnant. For the first time since her and Collin's conversation she'd managed to smile.

Time went by. A lot of time. After the first year passed Brady had arrived with legal documents and the information that he was enrolling her, Ayla, Mary, and Vasilii in school so that they wouldn't spend all of their time sitting around the house. She'd accepted her new identity without a fight. Leah Clearwater. A false family brewed in memory of some of those they'd lost. According to her documents she was Leah Clearwater, sister of Ayla Clearwater and daughter of Emma Clearwater. They hadn't bothered listing a father because it didn't really matter.

Mary and Vasilii's identity had been of Mary's making. Mary and Vas-they'd decided Vasilii was too strange of a name- Uley were daughter of Dol and Paul Uley. It had been an obvious play on Brady's lineage and no one had commented on it. It was easier that way. According to the school system they were distant cousins that had come to live with Brady and Lila. The school system didn't pry. They were people, which was more than a lot of the world had.

School was boring, Leah learned this pretty quickly. When she'd been in Missouri, Emmett had educated her, so she would let Holly take over control during school and suffer through the day for her. Holly had developed better social capabilities though she was still pretty wild. One time she'd even bitten a class mate who had tried to push her down in the hall.

It had been a hilarious day. Especially when Brady had shown up giving her an all too knowing look which she'd smiled innocently at.

Things were getting easier.

Every night she would lie in her bed and reach out to feel the Imprint. It was her reassurance that he was still alive. That one day she'd see him again.

At some point in the second year they'd received a phone call from Brady's daughter letting them know that Collin was gone from the house they'd left him in. Not dead, just gone. They had checked on him occasionally but they weren't sure when exactly he'd left. There wasn't anything they could do. Based off the death tolls in the news there were very few shapeshifters and vampires left. Even then, they couldn't risk contacting those that were left. They had to give them a chance to escape the werewolves, even if they knew Vasilii's plan would work out.

Leah had waited. She'd waited for a long time after that. Waited for Collin. Time passed. Daula died, Seth and Nahuel stopped calling and they suspected they had been killed.

High school was worse than elementary and middle school. When she'd entered into high school she'd actually begun stepping into new territory education wise. Guys and girls had flirted with her and she'd rejected them, except once. The years of waiting for Collin were taking a toll on her. Part of her, a part of her that wanted desperately to be loved again, it had finally given in.

There wasn't a moment she'd regret it because it had given her an escape for two years. It had taken him two years to piece together how broken she was. While he didn't know the details once he'd realized she was using him to cope he'd confronted her and they'd agreed it was better to break it off before someone was hurt.

It was around Leah's twentieth birthday when Ayla and Mary came out to the family about their relationship. Everyone had known about it before then, everyone except Leah. Leah had been so lost in her longing she'd been blind as to what was happening in her very own house.

That was when she'd finally realized she might never see Collin again.

If Collin didn't come back the reason why he'd do it was easy enough. To give her a chance at a real life.

It wasn't what she wanted. Not really. What she wanted was her Imprint. The boy she'd loved since she was ten. After she understood what was happening she'd shut down. She'd shut herself out of the real world and fallen into a habit of reliving every memory she had of her time with Collin. She clung to that until finally Mary confronted her. Leah remembered the conversation clearly.

" _Leah, open this damned door before I break it down!" Leah hadn't opened it; she'd just curled up into a tighter ball under her blankets and shut out the sound of Mary beating on the door._

_To be honest, she hadn't expected Mary to actually kick the door open. The sound of wood splintering filled her ears and she had about ten seconds to jerk into a sitting position and turn towards the doorway before Mary was on top of her._

_From an outside perspective the position might've seemed intimate, or maybe like the beginning of a rape. The way Mary straddled her waist and used her feet to hold the now struggling Leah's legs to the bed while she gripped both of Leah's hands in one hand and pinned them above her head to glare into the Leah's eyes as she held her down, her free hand clenched in a fist at her side._

_Anyone that knew Mary knew better than to assume that. Mary had grown into a smaller woman. Shorter than the average woman. She'd made up for the risk of being a small woman by building up as much strength as she could while she was young. She didn't plan on being weak just because she was human. She knew how to fight and the fact that Mary had Leah immobilized scared her for more than one reason._

" _Okay, Leah. I love you to death. Really, I do. You're part of my god forsaken fucked up family. But this shit has to stop. I love Collin. You know that. He's my brother. I ruined his childhood to have him by my side for eternity. What happened then happened and I'm sorry. I really am. But this_ has _to stop. What you want from him he_ can't _give to you. You know it and I know it. He won't come back. You need to accept this and move on. Dwelling won't help. This," what Mary did then stunned her._

 _It was an action she never would've expected from Mary. Not in a million years. Mary kissed her, she closed the distance and she kissed her and_ dammit _. Leah would be lying if she said she didn't surrender to the feeling of closeness, no matter how fucked it was. She surrendered to the kiss and struggled against the other girl's hold for a whole other reason. The fight was futile and both girls knew it. When Mary parted she was relaxed and Leah knew that the kiss had no meaning to the other girl. It had been a point, a solid point._

" _That was real." Leah blinked as she tried to recall what Mary had been talking about. When she did she turned her head away to stare at the white wall. "I don't know you, Leah. Not as much as I wish I did. But I know what you're doing to yourself. Torturing yourself with memories of your lost love will_ not _make him come back. It will put you through Hell. You'll suffer and break apart until there's nothing left. But this. This here. Me being here. This is real. You have to stop clinging onto something that can never be because it will destroy you. If you don't want to fall in love, fine, don't fall in love. No one is asking you to do that."_

" _What I'm telling you is that you can't lock yourself away from the world. Stop hiding in here and reliving memories of what can never be and come out there. Spend time with the family, watch one of these terrible movies with us. Hell, if you want come join me and Angel and we'll give you the night of your life. Just stop doing this."_

_Mary freed her after that and just before she could leave the room Leah sat up and called after her, "Mary."_

" _What?"_

" _Has he contacted you?"_

_Mary went rigid in the doorframe, lethal silence for several long moments before she spoke softly. "No." Leah could hear the cracking in her voice then the other girl slipped out the doorway and she was alone._

Leah had thought over that conversation for a long while. Everything Mary had said and done had wedged into her. Lodged into her consciousness. Slowly she'd pulled herself together.

Things had been on a slow slope upwards for twenty five years when the most unexpected thing had happened. The last thing Leah ever wanted to imagine. Not after all that time.

Her and her husband had been at a park in Oklahoma, her curled into his side and watching their daughter play on the playground, when she'd caught sight of a familiar face settling into a bench across the playground with a blonde woman in his arms.

Leah's throat closed at the sight.

It wasn't possible.

There wasn't any logic to the sight.

Except…

Without thinking Leah had launched herself from her seat and stormed across the playground.

A thousand different emotions flooded her at the sight of him.

It had to be him.

She knew it was him.

_Collin._

His name rang through her very core, she could feel her Imprint embedded in him.

It made no sense. He was a man. It had been around thirty-five years since she'd seen him but she _knew_. It was unmistakable. Even before the Imprint had made itself known she _knew_.

Collin was very human. That was the only explanation for _why_ he looked forty-five. Basically the only reason he would still be alive.

Halfway across the playground she paused.

It occurred to her that something was wrong. Very wrong.

It was one thing if he'd woken up a vampire and stayed away to let her live her life. However, if he'd woken up as a human, there was no reason he would've chosen to stay away.

Unless he'd woken up without his memories. In which case…

Could she do this? Was it fair for her to confront him after all this time? 'A familiar face or location.' Mary had told her. They knew those were triggers for the ex-humans. Bella had been woken from her memory loss by Mike and Nahuel had been woken by Greece.

She was stuck standing there and staring helplessly as her husband tried to get her attention, when his shaking of her arms did nothing to help he stepped in front of her, cutting off her line of sight and snapping her out of her daze.

"Leah."

She blinked up at Jackson's worried expression, searching her mind for an answer but unable to come up with any words. How did one explain to their husband who knew nothing about the unnatural a situation like this? _Think, Leah._ Holly chastised her from somewhere far off in the back of her mind.

"I think I know him." The words flowed effortlessly, not a lie, she tried not to lie to him unless she had to. "I mean, I think I knew him when I was younger…"

Jackson searched her for a moment, frowning. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I thought…I thought he was dead." She admitted just as that all too familiar face walked up to them.

 _Oh God._ Her throat closed as Collin smiled at her, like he knew her. He couldn't. It wasn't possible. If he knew then he'd left her.

Jackson followed her gaze, turning ever so slightly so that he was barring her from Collin. Like Collin would harm her. Like someone would be stupid enough to harm someone in the middle of a park. Well…they would be but she doubted it.

"I can't believe it." Collin sounded so casual though if Leah looked closer there was a certain degree of tension boiling just beneath the surface. "Leah? Is that really you?"

That anger that had melted away came back full force as he said what that sinking suspicion in her was telling her.

_He knows me._

Without a thought she launched herself forward and past her husband, throwing herself into Collin with so much force that it knocked him back onto the ground and she landed on top of him, straddling his stomach with her legs. If it wasn't for the fact that Collin was an ex-human the action could've possibly hurt him. The only reason Leah was so capable of the movements was Mary's insistence that she stay in shape.

There was the distinct sound of screaming from around them as she threw the first punch, "You son of a bitch!" She screamed with all the fury she could muster, as she landed another punch. "Thirty five years!" She shouted as hands came down on her shoulders, trying to pull her off him. She jerked away from them and threw another punch, using her thighs to put pressure on the sides his stomach. Trying to cause pain though she doubted it actually did anything. It didn't matter that her Imprint screamed at her to stop. That she couldn't harm her Imprintee. She wasn't a god damned shapeshifter and he had left her.

"Leah!" This time he grabbed her hand as she went to throw another punch, his words a bit off and when she blinked away the tears she didn't realize she was shedding, she realized how much damage she'd done. The side of his face was already swelling and there was a blood trickling from the side of his mouth as he stared helplessly at her. Despite the punches she'd delivered it was obvious the Imprint had limited her on what she could do to him. Which did nothing but refuel her anger.

"Thirty-five years! Thirty-five years and you couldn't give us any damned peace of mind! Picked up a fucking cellphone!" She bared her teeth at him as she went to throw another punch with her free hand. Another hand caught her before she could land it.

"Leah, what the hell are you doing!" Jackson's voice finally pierced her angered daze and she glared down at Collin, her teeth still bared out of instinct. "Get off of him before someone decides it's a good idea to call the cops. I am so sorry-"

Leah knew what Jackson was about to do and she jerked her head up so she could see her husband, "Don't you dare apologize to him." Her gaze flicked to the playground where her daughter was staring at her with so much fear that her heart sank. "Take Emma to the car."

"I'm not-"

"Remember how I told you I have a complicated history?" Her gaze flicked back to her husband and he paled visibly. "Take her to the car. Okay?"

Jackson glanced back at Collin before he relented, releasing her and making his way to her daughter.

When she looked back at Collin he looked genuinely afraid. Which was a fair reaction. She needed to take a step back. "We need to talk." She stated coldly, pushing up off of him. Most the people in the park were staring at the reaction with fear but she knew no one had called the cops. It was one of the ways that humanity had devolved.

Without looking back to see if he'd followed she trailed off into the small woodsy area not far from the park, tears burning the corners of her eyes. Once they were a decent distance away she spun around, glaring at him.

"Explain."

"I know everything." He admitted, searching her carefully like she might attack him again.

"But?" She asked, not bypassing the fact that there was an unspoken 'but' there. Part of her told her the problem and it broke her heart.

"I'm not Collin. Not exactly. It's…When I woke up thirty three years ago I had no memory of who I was. Absolutely no clue. I woke up and I felt like I was dying. I managed to drag myself into this kitchen and there was no food. Some water bottles but no food. I downed two of them and took the third. With the very little energy those water bottles supplied me with I stumbled outside. By my luck a family was driving by. They asked me where my parents were and I told them I didn't know. I didn't know anything. They named me Alex for convenience sake and drove me to the nearest city, dropping me off at a hospital. The cops got involved and next thing I knew I was in the foster system. Fast forward about eighteen years and…I started having these weird dreams where this kid that looked like me when I was found would talk to me. He explained things to me. Sort of. Told me he'd been trying to claw his way to the surface for a long time. Said there was issues with memories. It was…disorienting. He started feeding me memories in my sleep, explained that we were like an Old Soul. Like you. But…"

"You're an Old Soul?" That was all out of that story that she cared about. If he was an Old Soul that meant…

"Kind of. Listen, Leah. I didn't confront you in that park to piss you off. I did it for him. But you have to listen to me. When he started talking to me, I was dating Alaine. I knew what he wanted. I knew he wanted me to find you. He wanted to give you a happily ever after but that wasn't _me._ I'm not Collin, I never will be Collin. I have a wife and a son. I have a family and my own life. You clearly have a husband and daughter. I know what you and him meant to each other. What you were. I know everything he did and everything he sacrificed to wipe the unnatural from the planet. I will let him out. It's only fair you get to talk."

"Wait." She searched him as she spoke, "Explain something to me. It's been thirty-five years. You said it took eighteen years for Collin to step forward and feed you those memories. Why did you never call us? Never let us have our final chance to talk."

He looked away. "I didn't want to. I knew just enough from Collin to suspect that you might've never moved on. I didn't want to be put in that spot. Yes, I knew where Brady lived. I knew exactly where to go to get in contact with you. I argued with Collin on this for months. He begged me. Pleaded and fought for control. I told him no. If I hadn't seen you with your husband and daughter today, I would've left the second you showed up."

"You should've called. Not for me. He had more family. I wasn't the only one." Leah glared at the man wearing the face of Collin. The man who wasn't him. Leah hadn't been the only one that suffered from Collin's absence. Despite what Mary tried to pretend, she had suffered from the disappearance of her brother. It wasn't a secret Daula had been broken by it too. They all had suffered from it.

"I should have. I didn't. Hate me all you want, what's done is done."

Leah gritted her teeth, tempted to throw another punch just to get some of her anger out. She didn't. Instead she just nodded her agreement, not sure what she'd say if she opened her mouth at that particular moment.

"Alright. Well I told you I'd let Collin talk so…" He trailed off as he shut his eyes, a couple moments later his entire demeanor changed and his eyes snapped open, the color taking on that unsettling ever-changing color that she'd only ever seen on three people. Collin collapsed to his knees, gasping for air as Leah dropped down in front of him.

"Oh God, I'm breathing. Actually breathing." Collin laughed giddily in front of her before lifting his head from the ground, still breathing a bit erratically. A massive grin covered his face as tears threatened the corners of her eyes again.

"Collin." It was all she could say as she tackled him to the ground in the same fashion she'd done with the other man before. Except this wasn't her being hostile. This was her being stupid, so very stupid. In that single moment it was her and Collin and nothing else mattered. It was her and her Imprintee. The one she'd been in love with since she was ten years old the first time around.

She caught herself with her hands on each side of his shoulders as she leaned in, pressing a passionate kiss to his lips that he returned with the same enthusiasm as she showed. It was desperate and everything she'd ever wanted though Holly reminded her from somewhere in the back of her mind as to why it was so very wrong. Why it was such a terrible idea.

A hand came onto the center of her chest and pushed up gently and she was forced to pull away when Collin turned his head slightly, breaking the kiss effectively and gasping for air.

"Leah." He muttered as she slumped down on top of him, burying her face in his chest as he arranged her so that they were curled up side by side on the ground. She wrapped herself around him to the best of her ability and buried her face in his chest, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Leah. We can't. I'm sorry."

She made a pained sound, knowing exactly what he meant and understanding it because she had Jackson and Emma. They seemed so distant, part of her didn't fully understand why she cared.

"I'm so sorry, Leah. So very, very sorry." She pressed herself closer to him as he wrapped his arm around her carefully, pulling her closer to him and pressing gentle kisses to her forehead. "We can't. I tried. I tried so hard. He refused and I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't force control. I drained myself after I handed away the powers. I think I drained my own soul. It…"

"Shutup, Collin." She muttered into his chest, "I waited. I waited for you. It took me eight years to realize that even though we knew you were awake, you weren't coming back. Mary had to stage an intervention. I thought she was going to beat the shit out of me. Instead she kissed me."

"She… _what_?" He sounded so shocked Leah couldn't help the smile from crossing her face as she curled closer to him. This she could do. Make a terrible story into something to smile about.

"I wasn't…I was in bad shape…I had locked myself in my room to relive my memories of you, I was in denial. She showed up and kicked the door down then straddled me holding me to the bed." Genuinely smiling, she could feel the astonishment in the movements of him, could almost feel him staring at her head. "Yelled at me for dwelling on losing you and to make her point she kissed me. I'm not into chicks. Not really. But there is something seriously hot about being held down by the oldest living creature. We made out and I was more enthusiastic then I'll ever admit about the entire thing." She was trying not to laugh. Most of what she said was bullshit, the situation hadn't been at all like that. Yes, she had admitted to herself at a later date that, despite the fact that she _was_ straight, she did find that ancientness of Mary alluring. The situation hadn't been at all enjoyable for the reasons she'd stated. She'd been vulnerable and in a bad spot and surrendered to Mary because she'd been so lonely. She was enjoying this though, enjoying it all too well. Taunting him.

"That is _not_ okay, Leah. She's my _sister._ " A hand tangled in her hair and pulled gently yet forcefully until she was looking up at him.

"I didn't fuck her. Not that night."

He opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut, staring at her in pure unshielded bafflement.

She couldn't keep a straight face because his reaction was so perfect. She burst into a fit of giggles and felt so much younger than she had in years.

When she started laughing he rolled his eyes, realizing she was screwing with him. "I hate you." He muttered before leaning in and pressing a passionate kiss to her.

"No you don't." She muttered in response after he pulled away.

"She did kiss you, didn't she?"

Leah nodded, her eyes fluttering shut as his hand moved from holding her hair to rubbing her back. "I was in a really bad spot and she kissed me. Pointed out how real that was versus the memories I was reliving. It helped. A lot. Also, she _did_ leave an opening that if I ever wanted to screw around with her and Ayla I could."

"Wait, her and Ayla?" He asked, pausing the movements of his arms and earning a pout from her.

"Yeah. I don't know when it started but her and Ayla were a thing when that happened. I guess you making her human was a good thing. Now they're married and living in New York."

"That's good."

"She misses you." She muttered softly as he returned to rubbing her back.

"I know. I wish…"

"Just call her. I'll call tonight and tell her the story of what happened here. Call her next Friday at nine PM. Surely your other soul fragment would be fine with a phone call."

"He has all the power so it shouldn't be that big of a problem. But… he's an ass. I'll try." Collin sighed softly and she buried her face in his chest again. "You spooked your husband when you mentioned a 'complicated history'."

Her husband. Oh she'd crossed a line. A line that she'd all too easily cross again for Collin. She wouldn't lie and say otherwise. In fact, when she returned home that night, she'd tell him the truth about this. She lied to him about everything about her past but this was something she wouldn't lie about.

She did care about him, didn't love him. Despite the fact that they were married, she didn't really love him. She loved her daughter, she didn't love her husband. She cared about him. It was Holly who loved him. Not her. Holly also didn't have the mental capacity to be in the relationship.

Telling him the truth was a terrible idea and she knew it. However, it wasn't fair for her not to tell him.

"I told him I had been the member of the mafia years ago and had to be put into witness protection."

"So you implied I was part of that?"

"Well I did beat your face in." She flicked her gaze up to see the damage she'd done. "It's pretty easy to assume that we had a bad history."

"We didn't." He stated matter-of-factly.

"We have a complicated history."

He hummed softly and held her close. "Not as complicated as it could be. I'm sure you've heard my mom's story."

"Bits and pieces." She admitted quietly, averting her gaze, not wanting to bring up how much the family had actually gossiped about Bella's relationships.

"I'm not an idiot, Leah." He responded.

"You sure about that?" She replied teasingly.

"Pretty damned sure."

"Fine. I know everything, including the nitty gritty details that she only ever told Mary. How her and Rosalie would spend hours upon hours bri-"

"Leah, I swear to God if you don't shut your mouth…"

"You're such a baby. How old are you now? Stop acting like a kid."

"You're talking about my _mom._ And you're acting like a freaking teenager so don't even start on calling _me_ a kid."

"What about this situation possibly makes me come off as a teenager?"

The hand that had been absently rubbing her back returned to her hair and he pulled it until she was looking up at him.

"Well for one, you're laying here with me and _not_ thinking about the fact that you have a family in the car waiting for you. A husband and a daughter that you named after your father. Then there's this," He leaned in and pressed a passionate kiss to her which she responded to eagerly, allowing herself to bypass the point he was making to her.

He was right. At that moment she was who she'd been all that time ago. She was who she was before she'd come to the realization that he wasn't coming back.

They should've stopped. The kiss quickly escalated and if they didn't stop she _would_ cross a line.

Interestingly enough it wasn't her who stopped it. It wasn't Collin or the man he was sharing a body with.

It was Holly. Holly who never stepped forward unless she was forced to by Leah. Holly who was quiet as a mouse unless she felt she should say something.

Leah sank into the back of her consciousness for a brief moment, it was disorienting as hell as she went from being in complete control of her actions to ripping herself off of the top of a somehow shirtless Collin.

He blinked at her, staring in confusion for several moments as he clearly gathered his thoughts. Once Leah realized why her actions weren't hers she was pissed.

 _Holly!_ It took no effort for her to retake control. She held all the power by being the original soul. Which made Collin's lack of control over his body a bit questionable. That wasn't something to dwell on in that moment.

 _Emma. Jackson. Leah, don't you dare do this to them. Don't you dare do this to us. We can't have him and you_ know _it. If you cross this line there will be no going back._ Holly sounded desperate.

_If you want me to stop, you have to take over. I can't keep going through these motions with him._

_I can't._ Holly told her, fearfully.

_I can't go back to how things were…not now. Holly, I need a reason to not cross this line. Either you take over the relationship with Jackson or I do something I regret._

Leah settled back onto the ground next to Collin, he moved into a sitting position and she crawled into his arms. "I'm sorry." She apologized for letting that get carried away. Despite the fact that the very action had proved his point.

 _I'm barely even a person._ Holly defended pathetically, trying to bury herself. Leah held her there. There was no way she was escaping this conversation.

"No you aren't. Thank you, Holly. For stopping us…it's not…she has her husband…" Leah knew by the way Collin tightened his hold on her that he wasn't grateful.

_Make your choice, Holly._

Leah could feel Holly's conflict as she shut her eyes and leaned into Collin.

 _Okay._ Holly agreed weakly.

Leah wished she'd said no. Leah wished that Holly had refused. If Holly had refused, she could've done something stupid. "We need to go." _I don't want to go._

"I know." _It's not right._

"Collin, I'm sorry."

"For what? What could you possibly have to be sorry for?"

"I'm sorry that I ever Imprinted on you." Carefully she pried her way out of his arms, pushing herself to her feet and turning to look down at him.

"I'm not. I'd do it a hundred times over just to spend a day with you."

"That's corny as hell."

Collin grinned and when she offered her hand he took it, pulling himself to his feet. They stared at each other for several long moments.

"Try to call Mary. Try to give her closure."

Collin nodded and pulled her into a tight hug, tears streaked her cheeks as she tightened her hold on him. "I love you."

"From now until forever." He responded easily as they pulled apart. In the back of her mind Leah was already planning. Holly was uneasy about the situation and voicing the complaints. They would handle it.

She kissed him softly before stepping away completely and making her way back towards the park, her hands tucking into the pockets of her jeans.

_I won't force this onto you immediately. I'll give you time to adjust. A year. A year and I'm buried except for some time to spend with Emma._

Holly was silent for most of her walk back towards the parking lot, Leah could feel her conflict. Finally she responded. _Okay._

The questions that followed asking about the eye color were answered with the truth. Holly actually told him everything that night, explained every last detail. Leah was happy laying low beneath the surface. If she wasn't in control she could hide away in memories, memories so vivid it was a wonder she'd never done it before.

The world didn't change much from then. There was still the occasional report of animal attacks or deaths in major cities. Until one day, they stopped. The world moved on, humanity had devolved a bit over the years but other than that it was…peaceful. Holly was happy being with her husband and Leah was happy playing mom to Emma over the years. After the event in the park no one heard anything from Collin. It was painful but it was easier. Knowing that Collin was alive had been one thing but knowing he hadn't chosen to abandon them helped. It gave them someone to resent and much needed closure on what had happened to him.


End file.
